Gas prices hit $4

Submitted by R. Neal on Sun, 2008/06/08 - 7:53am.

Some tough but necessary talk about energy:

I want to have an unpleasant talk with you about a problem unprecedented in our history. With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge our country will face during our lifetimes. The energy crisis has not yet overwhelmed us, but it will if we do not act quickly.

[..] We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. By acting now, we can control our future instead of letting the future control us.

[..] Ours is the most wasteful nation on earth. We waste more energy than we import. With about the same standard of living, we use twice as much energy per person as do other countries like Germany, Japan and Sweden.

One choice is to continue doing what we have been doing before. We can drift along for a few more years.

Our consumption of oil would keep going up every year. Our cars would continue to be too large and inefficient. Three-quarters of them would continue to carry only one person -- the driver -- while our public transportation system continues to decline. We can delay insulating our houses, and they will continue to lose about 50 percent of their heat in waste.

[..] We will feel mounting pressure to plunder the environment. We will have a crash program to build more nuclear plants, strip-mine and burn more coal, and drill more offshore wells than we will need if we begin to conserve now. Inflation will soar, production will go down, people will lose their jobs. Intense competition will build up among nations and among the different regions within our own country.

If we fail to act soon, we will face an economic, social and political crisis that will threaten our free institutions.

But we still have another choice. We can begin to prepare right now. We can decide to act while there is time.

President Jimmy Carter, April 18, 1977

Oil was $13 a barrel. Gas was 62 cents per gallon.

Prophets get no respect

Submitted by ATSF616 on Sun, 2008/06/08 - 8:12am.

.....until it's too late.

One interesting thing is

Submitted by R. Neal on Sun, 2008/06/08 - 8:19am.

One interesting thing is that we did adopt one of his proposals, which was to transition from oil and natural gas fired electric power plants to coal. That was supposed to be an interim step, and probably put "peak oil" off by a couple of decades. But we have not used the time wisely to do the other things he talks about in his plan, like investing in renewable energy resources such as solar.

not enough

Submitted by Hayduke on Sun, 2008/06/08 - 9:38am.

There's not going to be enough alternative energy to power exurbia.

Those darn progressives

Submitted by Factchecker on Sun, 2008/06/08 - 11:07am.

That is the kind of socialist propaganda that got JC thrown out of office. Especially next to "Are you better off now than before...?" appeals.

Jimmy could have been re-elected if he had just promised everyone everything.

Jimmy could have been

Submitted by fletch on Sun, 2008/06/08 - 11:18am.

Jimmy could have been re-elected if he had just promised everyone everything.

or paid the ransom to the Ayatollah like his successor did.

A free way to improve gas mileage!

Submitted by Easy (not verified) on Sun, 2008/06/08 - 11:38am.

This method is crazy but it works. Make your car lighter and you get better gas mileage. Look at my blog for an extreme example.

Exurbia

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Sun, 2008/06/08 - 3:30pm.

"There's not going to be enough alternative energy to power exurbia"

I disagree, there's a lot of solar power falling on those roofs and tractor sheds and fallow fields. We just need a way to harness it.

Carpools & telecommuting would help the other side of the equation.

____________________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs

The $20 Barrel of Oil

Submitted by redmondkr on Sun, 2008/06/08 - 8:07pm.

This weekend Bill Moyers got an opportunity to ask Faux News reporter and O'Reilly stooge Porter Barry about the $20 a barrel oil Rupert Murdoch predicted as a result of the Iraq invasion.

It all started as an ambush on Mr. Moyers but suddenly Custer was surrounded by all those Indians.

Visit us at

The Home

Of course the repubs are blaming the dems

Submitted by ANGRYWOLF on Sun, 2008/06/08 - 10:29pm.

and/or environmentalists for it, forgetting they controlled both the White House and Congress for several years and did nothing but enrich themselves and their followers. How can the oil companies get record profits and tax breaks at the same time.All those political contributions to republicans.