Doubts raised about Obama's magic energy formula

Washington Times:

The U.S. oil and natural-gas industry's new lead lobbyist said Tuesday he doubted that President-elect Barack Obama would be able to deliver on his campaign promise to reduce American oil consumption by 10 million barrels a day by 2030, but endorsed efforts to create more "green" jobs, many of which, he said, would be situated at oil companies.

In an interview with reporters and editors of The Washington Times, Jack Gerard, the president of the American Petroleum Institute (API), also said he was confident that Congress would not reinstitute a ban on offshore drilling despite Democratic gains in the last election.

"That would be part of the old way of doing business, as opposed to this new paradigm," Mr. Gerard said.

He warned, however, that additional drilling could be delayed by the new secretary of the interior.

Oil and gas, Mr. Gerard said, would continue to be a major staple of U.S. energy consumption for many years to come.

"Oil and gas is the backbone of the American economy. It has been for many years; it will continue to be for many more years," said Mr. Gerard, who has been at API for just a few weeks. "We could quadruple what we're talking about in the area of alternatives and renewables that were doing today, and what would that give us? About 3 percent of our energy production."

...

Democrats have been trying to push the US into alternatives by strangling domestic production of energy. We saw how disastrous that strategy was during the dramatic rise of oil prices earlier this year. Those prices drove our economy into a tailspin and were a factor in leading to the financial crisis. They were a direct factor in the downturn of the auto industry.

Obama's promises on reducing the use of oil and gas just are not realistic. Democrats seem to be betting on the development of a perpetual motion machine powered by air. No one is keeping that machine from being developed. It just is not out there.

Much of the aversion to oil and gas is based on a carbon phobia pushed by environmental groups looking for an excuse to oppose energy. Despite suggestions of a consensus on this issue, it is still hotly disputed and most of the recent evidence suggest the earth is cooling and not getting warmer. If that happens, I will be disappointed because I like warmer weather.

Energy hate groups are the biggest obstacle to our energy independence. They tend to hate energy in all forms. There is not one form of energy for which you cannot find a naysayer. I think we should lift restrictions on energy production and let the market pick the winner. It will chose the one that produces the most energy at the lowest price in the most convenient form. There is no one in or out of government that is smart enough to make a better choice.