I do agree with bringing the oil jobs home. But even then, the object is to keep them home, but still not run out of oil any time soon. We need that oil for plastics and fertilizer and myriad other uses. You see we've obviously been leaning on foreign oil for a very obvious strategic reason, and that is not running out of our own. Better to use the other guy's oil up first, right? But doing so has enriched the workers of other countries and not our own.
You can say that again and not only the workers of other countries, but the countries themselves.
Right now we need jobs, and an upgrade of domestic energy, which we need anyway, would provide a lot of jobs and create economic stimulus. So I propose replacing those old coal plants with newer NG plants, because as you say it's cheap and we've got lots of it.
Changing out from coal to NG has been going on for decades, all the new plants burn NG.
If we add in wind and solar, with NG as a base load, then the inevitable increased demand for NG won't drive up the price too high and it will last a lot longer too.
There you go subsidizing wind and solar with tax payer money, while we're over 16 trillion in debt and counting. We have over thousand yrs of NG and you want to spend one hell of a lot more on wind and solar, just because. No Fing way. Further we have over a thousand yr of coal and we've come a long way in cleaning up coal.
The whole point is to rely on our own resources but not use them up before we're ready. Make sense?
It only makes sense if we're running out, but when we have over a thousand yr of supply I don't I would clasifiy that as running out. Christ wind and solar is old, and we need be we could flood this country with those stupid things if was needed to. T Boone lost millions on wind and is now pushing NG as the future energy source.
And yes, EVs as it stands now are a city car only. You won't drive across the country in one. But most people spend most of their time driving around the city anyway.
I don't know what city your talking about but try driving to work in California, Texas, NY, or any big city where people commute 75 miles one way. Then when the temperature drops to "0" and you put on the heat, your little battery goes dead, same when it's hot, put on the air and you stop driving. Plus the life of a Battery differ in hot or cold weather, thus unreliable.
In time battery tech will improve and EVs will improve in range.
You can say the exact same thing about cleaning up coal to burn. In time Tech will improve. But the problem with that theory, you cannot force science, storing electricity has not been successful for decades, and it may never be in the amounts that we would need to move heavy trucks, construction equipment, move cars long distance without a extremely heavy load of batteries that is self defeating. Subsidizing solar, wind, and EV is a waste of tax payer money. Especially when we're 16 trillion in debt and counting.
Lets just not throw the baby out with the bathwater. And not look at a newborn and say, "well he cain't talk and he seems mighty short for a farmhand." Give it time. Just don't throw him in the trash before he's grown a might.
I am all for green, but I am only for green research, subsidizing wind, solar, and EV is a waste of money. Put some money into research only do develop that battery you speak of but until we have that battery why keep throwing good money on a wanabe EV. McCain wanted to put up prize money to a company that would come up with a battery that would meet certain criteria. I can't recall the award amount but that is the type of research we can support. Not just throwing money at a problem and hope something sticks. Because right now wind, solar and these EV are costing this country billions in borrowed money we don't have