[killJOY]

I'm hoping the local newspaper prints the following editorial:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('killJOY', 'A')ugust 6, 2005

Dear Editor,

In his new book on the coming energy catastrophe, "The Long Emergency," James Kunstler describes "an age-old tendency of humans to believe in magical deliverance and to wish for happy outcomes" when confronted with immense problems like resource depletion.

Behind recent front-page stories of sporting events and weeping statues, there lie shocking confirmations that these delusional tendencies are alive and well. For example, in the midst of the highest gasoline prices ever, Congress passes a $286.4 billion highway bill devoted to promoting pet road construction projects, instead of financing the massive passenger rail system we are going to be in desperate need of soon.

As oil reaches a record $62 a barrel and natural gas is several hundred percent more ex pensive than it was five years ago, letter writers express concern about the environment around Mobil oil's proposed Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling project. They should be more worried that the United States' original endowment of 220 billion barrels of oil is rapidly depleting. We are down to less than 25 billion. The world could consume that in a few months.

The biggest problem with ANWR is not the environment; it's that the oil there won't help us out of the coming peak oil crisis. The US now consumes over 20 million barrels of oil a day--that's 25% of the world total--yet more than two-thirds of our oil comes from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia. We'd be lucky if ANWR yielded 1 million barrels a day.

Other writers express faith in so-called renewables, as if electricity from dams and wind turbines will save us from foreign oil dependence. The fact is, oil is hardly even used to generate electricity anymore. Huge proportions of generating capacity come almost entirely from North American natural gas and coal, because you can't ship them cheaply from abroad. Nuclear power plants, like hydrodams, generate less than 10% of electricity nationwide. Wind and solar power combined doesn't even make up one percent.

American natural gas is running out. We drill more wells each year, in smaller and smaller fields that deplete faster than the tired, old giant fields. So Canada sells us 50% of their natural gas, but with demand for electricity running out of control--"like a runaway train," according to energy analyst Matthew Simmons--we'll be lucky if Canada can continue providing that amount in the future.

Along comes Maine Interfaith Power and Light, who, according to one letter writer, promises to deliver "renewable" electricity to your home. As electricity is merely a flow of electrons, and electrons from all power generation facilities are dumped into the existing grid, I guess one must indeed rely on "faith" to ensure that the electrons running one's hairdryer come from a "green" hydro-dam and not a nasty coal-fired plant.

Renewable sources are so insignificant that trying to run Maine on them is like trying to operate an amusement park on several AA batteries. That is no matter, though, for the MePIL website promises to send you "an attractive, personalized certificate," ensuring that you have made a dontation to a supposedly non-polluting, oil-free energy company. This is just a lie. Hydro dams and wind turbines are massively dependent on the existing, pollution-causing petroleum infrastructure for their materials and their construction. In fact, Kunstler reminds us that "renewable" power sources are simply expensive gadgets brought to you by cheap oil.

Chris Skrebowski of the Petroleum Review calls the coming energy crunch a "tsunami." Matthew Simmons says "the situation is desperate." Even Chevron acknowledges, "the era of easy oil is over," in a two-page ad in the New Yorker.

As oil and gas reserves get low, they get more expensive. You can bet the renewables that depend on the current oil and gas infrastructure will soon be priced out of existence.

[Praylak]

Great letter man.

I'd be interested to hear if it shows up in the editorial columns of your paper. Good luck.

[Free]

Yes indeed a great little piece of writing, but make sure you don't send them your avatar as well!

[I_Like_Plants]

Maybe the fact that Kunstler's a neocon gives him more credibility with the Rush/Bush crowd and at least will get the idea of PO out there.

Your avatar cracks me up! The guy's trying to look like a badass, but he looks like a dork. But he IS a badass.....

[turmoil]

i think your signature is a bit harsh...letter is good though.

[I_Like_Plants]

His signature is a standard Easter Island saying, and a standard sentiment in Polynesian culture. How dare you pick on poor, oppressed, Pacific-Asian Islanders!

[Tyler_JC]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'H')is signature is a standard Easter Island saying, and a standard sentiment in Polynesian culture. How dare you pick on poor, oppressed, Pacific-Asian Islanders!

[killJOY]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')e must be an evil racist Polynesian-hater.

[foodnotlawns]

Killjoy's avatar was a crazed transient axe murderer who came down from Canada to kill someone in the US. They found him with blood all over him.

[turmoil]

*saving image of Michelle*

[MicroHydro]

Too harsh? Nah

[drew]

I love killjoy's avatar.
However I've got to set 'foodnotlawns' straight.
The murderer in question is an AMERICAN, of course.
He killed some old people in New Brunswick and then wandered into Maine carrying the bloody weapon-a chainsaw!!!
Stupid US customs let him in, then figured it out a couple days later.

We have a few of our own serial killers up here too-Bernardo/Homolka, C Olsen, etc.

Drew

[BabyPeanut]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('killJOY', '[')b]"The skin of your mother sticks to my teeeffff!"