Friday, April 20, 2012

On Earth Day 2012, Let's Celebrate our Abundant Domestic Energy Treasures from Mother Earth

Fossil Fuels: Reliable Energy of the Past and the Future


According to Wikipedia, Earth Day is a "day early each year on which events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth's natural environment." 

We're coming up on Earth Day this Sunday, and it might be a good time to celebrate the fact that we still get most of our plentiful, affordable energy directly from Mother Earth in the form of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and petroleum) that helps to fuel our vehicles and airplanes, and heat and light our homes, businesses and factories.  Shouldn't that be part of the "awareness and appreciation of Earth's natural environment," to celebrate the Earth's bountiful natural resources in the form of fossil fuels? 

The two charts above illustrate the fact that despite Obama's claims that oil and fossil fuels are "energy sources of the past," they are still very much the primary energy sources for both domestic production and consumption (EIA data here) of energy, and will likely remain so for many generations to come. Despite all of the billions of dollars in government taxpayer subsidies of renewable energy, they provided only 9.3% of energy consumption in 2011, which was barely more than the 8.9% share in 1983, almost 30 years ago - that's not a lot of progress for the politically popular renewables.  And when it comes to solar and wind, together combined they provided only 1.6% of the total energy produced in the U.S. in 2011 - an almost insignificant amount.  Given the abundance of shale oil and gas in the U.S. it's highly likely that fossil fuels will continue to fuel our economy and continue to be our dependable, affordable "fuels of the future." 

The theme of 2012 Earth Day is "Mobilize the Earth," and I suggest we recognize the significant increases in recent years mobilizing our country's energy treasures in the Bakken Formation of North Dakota, the Marcellus Formation in Pennsylvania, and the Eagle Ford Formation in Texas.  On Earth Day, we should also celebrate the fact that extracting oil and gas from the earth creates thousands of jobs for Americans.  We now have more direct jobs in the domestic oil and gas industry (193,000) than at any time since 1988, and the industry has been creating more than 100 new jobs every day for the last year. 

Happy Earth Day 2012~!

10 Comments:

At 4/20/2012 3:48 PM, Blogger Benjamin Cole said...

By far the biggest US government, socialist, pink-o, enfeebling renewable energy program is ethanol.

GOP moonshine, baby.

But let's talk about Solyndra.

 
At 4/20/2012 3:55 PM, Blogger Moe said...

Sounds more like a "People Day" celebration - we're getting all the presents. All I see Mother Earth getting is the mine shaft.

 
At 4/20/2012 6:18 PM, Blogger Che is dead said...

Left-wing hysteria from "Earth Day" 1970:

“We have about five more years at the outside to do something.” -- Kenneth Watt, ecologist

“Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.” -- George Wald, Harvard Biologist

“We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation.” -- Barry Commoner, Washington University biologist

“Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and possible extinction.” -- New York Times editorial, the day after the first Earth Day

“Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years.” -- Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist

“By…[1975] some experts feel that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur until the decade of the 1980s.” -- Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist

“It is already too late to avoid mass starvation.” -- Denis Hayes, chief organizer for Earth Day

“Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa. By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions….By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine.” -- Peter Gunter, professor, North Texas State University

“Scientists have solid experimental and theoretical evidence to support…the following predictions: In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive air pollution…by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching earth by one half….” -- Life Magazine, January 1970

“At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it’s only a matter of time before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land will be usable.” -- Kenneth Watt, Ecologist

“Air pollution…is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of lives in the next few years alone.” -- Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist

“We are prospecting for the very last of our resources and using up the nonrenewable things many times faster than we are finding new ones.” -- Martin Litton, Sierra Club director

“By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate…that there won’t be any more crude oil. You’ll drive up to the pump and say, `Fill ‘er up, buddy,’ and he’ll say, `I am very sorry, there isn’t any.’” -- Kenneth Watt, Ecologist

“Dr. S. Dillon Ripley, secretary of the Smithsonian Institute, believes that in 25 years, somewhere between 75 and 80 percent of all the species of living animals will be extinct.” -- Sen. Gaylord Nelson

“The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If present trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age.” -- Kenneth Watt, Ecologist

And, yet, leftists, like "Benji" join this cult in ever increasing numbers every year.

 
At 4/20/2012 6:21 PM, Blogger Che is dead said...

George Carlin on "Saving the Planet"

 
At 4/20/2012 7:51 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Well at least Benji is against ethanol. SO must give him credit for that. But then, he is also against everything else as well.

 
At 4/20/2012 8:32 PM, Blogger Benjamin Cole said...

Abir-

If I was gay, I surely would not be against you!

 
At 4/20/2012 9:28 PM, Blogger juandos said...

"And, yet, leftists, like "Benji" join this cult in ever increasing numbers every year"...

Well che the 'ignorance is bliss' route is the path of least reistance for life's least capable...

 
At 4/21/2012 3:06 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Benji: You aren't? Fooled me.
Methinks: Thus is Obama's community organizer "career" explained.

 
At 4/21/2012 7:59 AM, Blogger Jim said...

Why do we still believe they are 'fossil' fuels?

That's a lot of dinosaurs.

 
At 4/21/2012 7:58 PM, Blogger VangelV said...


GOP moonshine, baby.

But let's talk about Solyndra.


Both the GOP and the Democratic Party dropped the ball on this. Instead of getting out of the way and eliminating the Department of Energy they both worked to make it larger. And, as always, the voters got what they deserved.

 

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