Twisted energy policies
Bensblurb #587 1/22/11
Our twisted energy policies, as executed by the Obama administration: Nowhere are they more laughingly juxtaposed than (1) the clamping down on oil drilling in the Gulf, and the new abundance of oil ready and waiting elsewhere, and (2) the government’s promotion of corn for use in ethanol rather than food. Go figure.
We have lotsa oil
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Billionaire oilman Harold Hamm told North Dakota bankers on Thursday that government estimates of recoverable oil in the Bakken and Three Forks formations are too conservative.
Hamm, 64, chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Resources Inc., said the formations in North Dakota and Montana hold about 20 billion barrels of recoverable crude, or about five times the amount previously estimated by federal geologists. The formations also hold the natural gas equivalent of 4 billion barrels of oil, he said.
"This is something that is totally incredible," Hamm told about 200 bankers who had gathered in Bismarck for a conference. "Everywhere you look the Bakken is front and center."
Rising food prices: Thanks, ethanol
The global economy is getting back on its feet, but so too is an old enemy: food inflation. The United Nations benchmark index hit a record high last month, raising fears of shortages and higher prices that will hit poor countries hardest. So why is the United States, one of the world's biggest agricultural exporters, devoting more and more of its corn crop to . . . ethanol?--Wall Street Journal
And here’s Time on the subject:
Nearly two thirds of drivers could have more corn-based ethanol in their fuel tanks under a new Environmental Protection Agency edict. The agency said that 15 percent ethanol blended with gasoline is safe for cars and light-duty trucks manufactured between 2001 and 2006, expanding an October decision that the higher blend is safe for cars built since 2007. The maximum gasoline blend has been 10 percent ethanol. The fuel is popular in farm country because most ethanol comes from corn and other grains. It faces strong opposition, however, from the auto industry, environmentalists, cattle ranchers, food companies and a broad coalition of other groups. Those groups say that using corn to make ethanol makes animal feed more expensive, raises prices at the grocery store and tears up the land. There have already been several lawsuits filed against the EPA — including one filed by automakers, boat manufacturers and outdoor power equipment manufacturers — since the agency decided to allow the higher blends for newer cars in October.
Critics said the change could be frustrating for drivers of older cars who will have to figure out which service station pump to use. And they argue that many retailers will opt not to sell the higher blend because of the expense of adding new pumps and signs.
-------How wacky can Washington get?
--Ben Blankenship
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Our twisted energy policies, as executed by the Obama administration: Nowhere are they more laughingly juxtaposed than (1) the clamping down on oil drilling in the Gulf, and the new abundance of oil ready and waiting elsewhere, and (2) the government’s promotion of corn for use in ethanol rather than food. Go figure.
We have lotsa oil
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Billionaire oilman Harold Hamm told North Dakota bankers on Thursday that government estimates of recoverable oil in the Bakken and Three Forks formations are too conservative.
Hamm, 64, chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Resources Inc., said the formations in North Dakota and Montana hold about 20 billion barrels of recoverable crude, or about five times the amount previously estimated by federal geologists. The formations also hold the natural gas equivalent of 4 billion barrels of oil, he said.
"This is something that is totally incredible," Hamm told about 200 bankers who had gathered in Bismarck for a conference. "Everywhere you look the Bakken is front and center."
Rising food prices: Thanks, ethanol
The global economy is getting back on its feet, but so too is an old enemy: food inflation. The United Nations benchmark index hit a record high last month, raising fears of shortages and higher prices that will hit poor countries hardest. So why is the United States, one of the world's biggest agricultural exporters, devoting more and more of its corn crop to . . . ethanol?--Wall Street Journal
And here’s Time on the subject:
Nearly two thirds of drivers could have more corn-based ethanol in their fuel tanks under a new Environmental Protection Agency edict. The agency said that 15 percent ethanol blended with gasoline is safe for cars and light-duty trucks manufactured between 2001 and 2006, expanding an October decision that the higher blend is safe for cars built since 2007. The maximum gasoline blend has been 10 percent ethanol. The fuel is popular in farm country because most ethanol comes from corn and other grains. It faces strong opposition, however, from the auto industry, environmentalists, cattle ranchers, food companies and a broad coalition of other groups. Those groups say that using corn to make ethanol makes animal feed more expensive, raises prices at the grocery store and tears up the land. There have already been several lawsuits filed against the EPA — including one filed by automakers, boat manufacturers and outdoor power equipment manufacturers — since the agency decided to allow the higher blends for newer cars in October.
Critics said the change could be frustrating for drivers of older cars who will have to figure out which service station pump to use. And they argue that many retailers will opt not to sell the higher blend because of the expense of adding new pumps and signs.
-------How wacky can Washington get?
--Ben Blankenship
#############
posted by Ben Blankenship at
7:53 AM
