Obama's Oil Scarcity Myth

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From Powerline on Saturday:

America has more fossil fuel resources than any other nation. Russia is second, Saudi Arabia is third. On Thursday, a representative of the Government Accountability Office testified before the House Science Subcommittee on Energy and Environment that the Green River Formation alone–it is located at the intersection of the states of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, and mostly underlies federal lands–contains as much oil as the entire proven reserves of the rest of the world combined. America is uniquely blessed in its energy resources. Two questions remain: 1) will Obama finally abandon his moronic two percent claim, and 2) will Obama, in a possible second term, block the development of the resources that can assure America’s economic supremacy for generations?

And this is from a Research Brief of The Rand Corporation:

The Oil Shale Resource Base

The Green River Formation, which covers parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, has the largest known oil shale deposits in the world, holding from 1.5 to 1.8 trillion barrels of oil. Of that, roughly 800 billion barrels are recoverable — more than triple Saudi Arabia’s proven oil reserves. Present U.S. demand for petroleum products is about 20 million barrels per day, so 800 billion barrels would last for more than 400 years if oil shale could be used to meet a quarter of that demand.

So, the next time a Liberal environmental wacko tries to tell you the United States is sitting on only 2% of the world's oil supply, feel free to call him a liar.

Clean Energy: Is it Clean & Does it Work?

John Hinderaker over at Powerlineblog.Com posted some very interesting stuff (especially for would-be investors) today from the Science and Environmental Policy Project:

Someone experienced in analyzing potential investments in innovative industries may be surprised by the lack of hard data on the performance of solar and wind in generating electricity. Certainly, it is understandable that solar and wind companies may wish to keep certain trade secrets from the public, such as manufacturing design and techniques. But if the results are as solid as the promoters claim, than one would expect the promoters would give the hard data on performance. Yet these are being withheld on the claims that such data is proprietary – confidential.

Slowly, information is leaking from nations that have spent heavily on wind and solar, such as Germany. This information should give pause to those touting solar and wind, including politicians. England is pulling back from wind, Germany has announced drastic cut-backs on its subsidies to solar, and Spain has announced the elimination of subsidies for renewable power. These actions are not the result of success. The erratic nature of these sources is well established. Further, electricity is rather unique among energy types – it cannot be stored on an affordable, commercial scale. 

Those proclaiming the virtues of wind and solar should be compelled to reveal actual output data from these sources, the required back-up, and data on the actual reduction of carbon dioxide and other emissions when alternative sources are used. 

Unfortunately, as long as solar and wind companies are getting lots of our tax money to  fund their businesses, they have all the investors (albeit, for the most part, unwitting investors) they need.

Squishy Law Enforcement and Riots

Joyce Lee Malcolm, Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law, is one of the top experts on second amendment rights. She was not at all surprised by the recent rioting in England, and says the only thing surprising about them is that anyone was surprised. She was invited by Scott Johnson of Powerline "to write for us on recent events in England. She has graciously responded with the column-length essay “The English riots: How British law fosters disorder.” You can read Professor Malcolm's insightful essay by clicking here.

PowerLine Judges Must Be Democrat Appointees

At the beginning of this summer the Powerline Blog offered to give away $100,000 to the Power Line reader who best dramatized the national debt. The winners have been announced as well as the runners-up.

On Saturday, August 6th, we posted one of the non-winners in the contest, and have linked below to the winner. We stand by our assessment that "Doorbell" (the non-winner we posted last Saturday) should have won, and hereby call for impeachment of the PowerLine Judges.

Here's the "winner."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AgL-I3PxHE&feature=player_embedded