| By his own admission, a certain former President | | | | from becoming real on any substantial scale. |
| was not keen on "the vision thing" as a general | | | | And then there is nuclear. I had thought to |
| proposition. He never did get around to proposing | | | | myself, years ago when Shoreham was shut |
| a Unified National Energy Policy. The successor | | | | down, that a terrible mistake had just been made, |
| co-Presidency brought forth many initiatives, but a | | | | that we were going in reverse, and that we |
| Unified National Energy Policy was not one of | | | | would come to rue the day. That is not to say |
| them. Iteration II of the "no vision thing" has done | | | | that "Shoreham" was the right installation in the |
| no better in this regard. | | | | right place, because it probably wasn't - only that |
| Apparently the next Presidency is to be neither a | | | | the mob-like, frenzied reaction to its construction |
| Restoration nor a Continuation, which is probably a | | | | evoked an animalistic, irrational streak in human |
| net positive. The prospect of a breath of fresh air | | | | nature which has been seen before over the |
| carries with it a certain appeal. Whoever is elected | | | | centuries, and will no doubt be seen again. |
| President next autumn has a great opportunity to | | | | Rather than "shutting down Shoreham" and |
| bring forth a unified national energy plan. It is | | | | stopping in its tracks the development of |
| indeed very late in the day, but it ought to be | | | | nuclear-powered electricity generating plants |
| one of the entries at the very top of the Priority | | | | nationwide, we should instead have been |
| List. | | | | proceeding apace with constructing those plants |
| So very much time has been wasted. It can't be | | | | and building up a uranium fuel reserve at the |
| recaptured. The current thrashing-about for a | | | | same time, especially since uranium is available in |
| "windfall profits tax" on Big Oil may be a reflection | | | | reasonable abundance right here at home. Canada |
| of a peculiarly human instinct to inflict punishment. | | | | has a pound or two of it too, we hear. |
| There is a certain vengefulness about it all, with | | | | Cursory reading reveals that good strides are |
| overtones of envy, jealousy, and coveting thy | | | | now being made in solar generation of electricity. |
| neighbor's goods. Certainly, there is great pain | | | | Surely, as the technology advances, solar will |
| involved in having to pay a small fortune to fill the | | | | become an ever-more-important part of the |
| gas tank, but there would seem not to be very | | | | entire electricity picture. |
| great profit in the retail side of the business, for | | | | The whole concept of deriving ethanol from corn |
| otherwise Exxon Mobil would not be exiting | | | | has turned out badly. I never understood the |
| therefrom, as has been reported this morning. | | | | supposed logic of it. The entire enterprise is one |
| XOM concluded that the availability of gasoline on | | | | gigantic boondoggle at the taxpayers' expense, |
| the retail premises has become the loss-leader or | | | | and it robs the world of food at exactly a time |
| zero-profit "bait" in order to bring the customer | | | | when it is most needed. I foresee that ethanol |
| into the store in order to pay for the gas and | | | | can become an important fuel for cars and |
| then sell him pretzels and hot coffee at good | | | | trucks, as it has in Brazil; but it ought not be |
| markups, which after all is not really its chosen line | | | | made in great volume from food grains. It is |
| of work. | | | | difficult to transport in bulk, as compared to |
| I lived on Long Island, New York, from birth until | | | | gasoline, partly because of its corrosive |
| just a few years ago. I clearly remember the | | | | properties; but in dilute form and in small package |
| drumbeat of opposition to the proposed nuclear | | | | units it is widely available and is easily carried |
| energy plant at Shoreham, which was actually | | | | about. (see: research categories "beer" and "Jack |
| fueled and ready to begin producing electricity | | | | Daniels"). |
| when the naysayers finally prevailed and the plant | | | | Liquefied natural gas is a bit of a puzzle. It's |
| was shut down before it ever earned its first | | | | devilish to handle; it's dangerous; if it comes from |
| dollar. The memories of Chernobyl and of the | | | | overseas, that adversely affects the balance of |
| close shave at Three Mile Island were fresh in the | | | | payments and does little if anything to promote |
| mind. The costs involved in building Shoreham and | | | | our energy independence. LNG may be and |
| then decommissioning it were inevitably | | | | remain in the mix, but I doubt that it has the |
| "administered" to customers at the retail level, | | | | potential of becoming a major part of the solution. |
| who continue to pay for it to this very day. | | | | I recall having a conversation some years ago |
| France (perhaps unexpectedly, France?) generates | | | | with a very book-learned man of academe. His |
| about 40% of its national electricity usage at its | | | | main theme centered upon the necessity to |
| nuclear generating plants. It is a world leader in the | | | | mandate the manufacture of automobiles in such |
| design and construction supervision of | | | | manner that they would operate on stored |
| state-of-the-art nuclear power facilities. Other | | | | electricity (batteries) only - i.e., without |
| European countries, by contrast, reflexively | | | | petroleum-derived fuel whatsoever. Recharging of |
| stopped new atomic electricity generation cold. | | | | the batteries would be accomplished by the use |
| Now chickens are coming home to roost, with a | | | | of electrical outlets at home and at |
| newly invigorated Gazprom holding all of the face | | | | universally-available "filling" stations. My response |
| cards, possessing the power (and perhaps the | | | | was that it was a marvelous idea; but I gently |
| willfulness) to have its way with Europe in terms | | | | inquired what he envisioned to be the fuel which |
| of the availability and the cost of natural gas. | | | | would be used in order to generate all that |
| It may be that we in the United States have | | | | electricity. The question stumped him cold. |
| tapped all of our practical sources of hydroelectric | | | | There are not going to be any easy answers; and |
| power. And yet - one wonders about that, upon | | | | they are not going to be provided by people |
| seeing pictures of vast acreage of farmland and | | | | whose lives are centered upon the concept of |
| entire Midwestern cities inundated with flood | | | | "No," "Never," or "Not In My Back Yard." Many |
| water - all of it doing damage, and none of it | | | | folks will be unhappy, maybe including me. There |
| generating a single kilowatt of power on its | | | | may even be more drilling in Alaska, wind farms in |
| determined way to the Mississippi River and the | | | | the sea within sight of Nantucket or even (!) |
| Gulf of Mexico, loaded with valuable topsoil to build | | | | Hyannis, and oil rigs offshore Palm Beach. |
| up the Delta. What a waste. | | | | However, if the professional naysayers would |
| Is there no reasonable way to capture the | | | | prefer to remain mobile, warm in winter and cool |
| inherent generative power of much of that | | | | in summer, and continue to see Pat and Vanna |
| wasted water - and prevent massive property | | | | appear on the TV screen when they click the |
| damage and disruption of lives while doing so? | | | | "On" button, there may have to be some |
| Is there latent hydroelectric generative power | | | | tradeoffs. |
| available to be harnessed in northern Canada, | | | | Every actual or potential source of electrical |
| which by mutual agreement might be developed? | | | | energy should be on the new President's desk for |
| We are told that the United States still has very | | | | discussion. He has the opportunity to get off to a |
| substantial reserves of soft coal in the ground. | | | | good start by gathering around him the best |
| Granted, coal is polluting, and utilities consider it to | | | | advice he can find; and thereupon, for the first |
| be the "fallback fuel." (We read that they are | | | | time, formulate a Unified National Energy Policy, to |
| falling back on it now, at least to some extent, in | | | | be presented to the Congress and intended to be |
| view of the prices of fuel oil and of natural gas). It | | | | in place by the end of his first year in office. It |
| would seem that coal will necessarily be a major | | | | should include specific goals for each actual and |
| part of the electricity-generation equation for | | | | potential source of electrical power, together with |
| decades to come, like it or not. | | | | targets for the substitution of alternate fuels in |
| Then there is wind power, which is still tiny, but | | | | place of gasoline, Diesel fuel, home heating oil, and |
| growing. Denmark generates a very large | | | | jet fuel. |
| percentage of its total electricity by wind power. | | | | My Dad taught me a long time ago that there are |
| It's a small country, to be sure, but it's leading the | | | | only two steps involved in getting a job done: 1) |
| way and showing us what can be done. | | | | Start, and 2) Keep Going. |
| Generation of electricity by tidal action or by | | | | On his very first day in office, the new President |
| wave action is in the picture. Those concepts are | | | | should start work on development of a Unified |
| appealing because the source of power never | | | | National Energy Policy. And then he should Keep |
| goes away. They do seem to be a long distance | | | | Going when the brickbats begin to fly. |