The greatest generation will remember, "Is your trip really necessary?" and the call by the FDR Administration to conserve energy for the war effort. We who came after and experienced the energy crisis years of President Jimmy Carter will identify with the need to limit our trips and save precious gasoline.
Well, welcome back, friends, to those not-so-thrilling days of yesteryear. It's the seventies reborn and we're once again paying for the horrendous decisions of an out-of-touch-with-reality Administration as Winter 2022 ends. We're also witnessing the disastrous results of that same Administration's efforts to destroy our fossil fuel sector and the entire American economy all to genuflect before the über Left wing of the Democrat Party. The radical save the planet by destroying our financial security types are in charge. They will stop at nothing to sink their 'green new deal' roots into the once fertile soil of the world's most productive economy by convincing us at the point of a gas pump that greening our energy is priority one!
Fact: America's national security depends on energy independence. Don't believe it? Look around at all the tension, frustration and anger of average Americans waiting impatiently to fill up their gas tanks with $4, $5 or $6/gallon gas. Imagine being a homeowner and opening your propane, heating oil or electricity bill. Then take a trip to the supermarket. Check out the prices that change daily on the products sitting on half-empty shelves - all transported by diesel-powered trucks. Seven and a half percent higher prices than last year - just the tip of the inflation iceberg representing just an average of how much more we're paying. Then there's our military that depends on readily accessible and abundant fuel to power its vehicles, planes and ships.
The Left and the White House say that the current energy crisis is not Joe's fault. His decision to cease drilling on oil-rich federal lands and the cessation of work on the Keystone XL pipeline are not the reason we're experiencing high energy prices. No, no. It's Russia's fault. Vladimir Putin is the cause of it all. This is now the official meme emanating from the Administration, its Cabinet Secretaries like the energy-illiterate Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and the mainstream media. We are now led to believe that NOW is the time to cough up a cool $60K for an electric vehicle promoted by that paragon of transportation wisdom (Mayor) Pete Buttigieg if we are to reap the benefits of 'going green.' If chutzpah were electricity, we'd all be fully charged. The same is true of all the junk science (about wind and solar energy's immediate potential) being peddled these days. We're just not there yet. Wind and solar are intermittent sources; the wind isn't always blowing, and the sun isn’t always shining. They can only be viewed as energy adjuncts that support a fossil fuel-rich energy portfolio.
Without going into the scientific 'weeds' about the problems associated with these energy sources, we must focus on one important aspect of solar…we have no way to adequately store the excess energy that is not pushed to the electric grid. Until we solve that problem, solar will continue to be an auxiliary technology. The Administration's green advocates won’t touch that subject with a ten-foot Tesla coil! It's easier to blame the oil, gas and coal industry AND the auto industry for America's 'addiction' to fossil fuel. Let's stop to consider how much of our economy depends on our mobile lifestyle. It's ENORMOUS, and it's inextricably linked to Americans' freedom - the freedom to pack up the picnic basket and head for the great out-of-doors OR simply escape the confines of our houses for a short trip to the mall for an afternoon of window-shopping.
Then there's family to visit and vacations to take, not to mention business trips. The last two years of lockdowns have shown us what sequestration and social distancing have done to our collective psyche and to our ability to cope with immobility. It's been destructive on many levels, and if we don’t get a grip on an energy policy that includes expanded oil/gas exploration and production soon we won’t have any choice but to buy Pete Buttigieg's sixty grand EV car… and then hope there's some place worth visiting after our economy has cratered.
Stephan Helgesen is a retired career U.S. diplomat who lived and worked in 30 countries for 25 years during the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush Administrations. He is the author of twelve books, six of which are on American politics and has written over 1,200 articles on politics, economics and social trends. He operates a political news story aggregator website, www.projectpushback.com. He can be reached at: stephan@stephanhelgesen.com
