President Obama called for a one-third reduction in oil imports over the next decade. He said nothing new and left a lot to assumption and speculation.What he did not say is important to note.
First, his proposed one-third reduction in oil imports will happen. Not because we will decide to do it, but because we will have no choice. The product will not be there for us to import, at least at the price we are willing to pay.
He implied that there would be alternatives available to take up the slack. Conservation and conversion to electrical power for transport would be one alternative. Wrong -- it is not an alternative, it is an imperative. Otherwise, we don't move things around in this country, and that includes raw materials and food.
Nuclear power will remain a requirement. Yep. If you want a steady supply of power in the near term, it will have to come from nuclear, with much support from coal and natural gas. In the long run, solar and wind and other forms of renewable energy will become increasingly important. Namely, that will be because the availability of anything else will drop so drastically those sources are left in control.
Unfortunately, the Republican response was typically political, and they added nothing to helping the situation in this country. They are part of the old guard, and they show it.
At some point the politicos will realize that they are faced with the fact that this country must learn how to get along on less power than we are currently using. We can do it by staring into the oncoming headlights until the truck runs us over, or we can start to work developing a plan on how to live with life as it will be in the near future -- a time with a lot less power available.
My advice is that you don't wait for the politicos to face reality. Get yourself into a mode where you can survive with much, much less energy available. Be creative now, while you still can. Time is running out.
sam
