MORE ON ENERGY

Double Hit For Gulf States. President Obama has been pressured to do something for the gulf states that have been devastated by the oil spill. Certainly, there is reason to believe that more could have been done by both BP and the Government. Obama is ever on the alert to find who's ass to kick and Secretary Salazar has has promised to "keep a boot on the neck" of BP to assure that they live up to their responsibility for clean up. In the meantime the administration has been reluctant to waive The Jones Act which forbids foreign governments from putting boats in the gulf to clean up the spill. The Saudis have developed technology which allows the oil on the surface to be vacuumed into boats and the water which accompanies the oil to be drained off the bottom and returned to the gulf. It's not complicated. As an old chemist I remember a laboratory apparatus called a separatory funnel which applies the same principal to separate water from organic liquids. While it would be difficult to use this method clean up all the oil from the spill, it could provide one more way to reduce the amount of oil that invades our shores. It is difficult to understand why we have not allowed foreign governments to assist us in this matter.

So what has the President done to help the environment? It's simple. He has banned all drilling in the gulf for six months and it is likely that this ban will be extended. The result is another hit for the economy of the gulf states. This will certainly prevent any environmental damage to the gulf but it will also eliminate thousands of jobs and deal another economic blow to the region. The next thing we know they will decide to eliminate auto fatalities by shutting down the nations highways.

It's Not As Easy As It Sounds. The President promised to shut down Guantanamo by January of last year. Its still open and its easy to understand why. One thing I disagree with the administration is their propensity to announce the elimination of something without a clear strategy for a replacement. Its the same way with their strategy to replace fossil fuels with "clean" energy despite the lack of an economically feasible replacement. In addition to the lack of economic feasibility, the environmental effects of many replacement strategies have not yet been fully evaluated. A recent article in Bloomberg discussed the merits of using diesel fuel from algae. Even though this works well from a carbon standpoint, it would take a network of ponds the size of the state of New Jersey to make enough diesel fuel to provide 6% of the world's needs. Consider the effect of that many stagnant ponds and the insect life that could breed there. I am all in favor of research in this area but we simply can't afford to stop producing conventional fuels until we have a viable substitute ready to go.

Natural Gas Is A Fossil Fuel. It burns cleaner than oil, is more efficient and produces less carbon dioxide per unit of energy obtained. We have a lot of it, particularly with the recent developments in ways to produce it from shale formations that stretch from Texas to New York. This could go a long way to produce enough low-cost energy, drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions and lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Still, we have to develop ways to expand its use in transportation. One thing we can't forget is that the current production methods involve injecting 80,000 lbs of chemicals and copious quantities of water to "frack" the rock and get it to release the gas trapped within. In areas where they have begun recovering this gas there is much concern about contaminating the underground water supply. In some areas, water produced for domestic use has shown signs of methane and benzene contamination. Again, this points out the potential for environmental damage we haven't yet considered.

The Point To Emphasize. There is always the potential for environmental damage when we produce sufficient amounts of energy to run our economy. Our understanding of the risks of offshore drilling is probably greater than our understanding of the risks of some of the alternative energy production. I am all for stepping up our efforts to obtain renewable energy but it is insanity to stop production of conventional sources before viable alternatives are available.

Texas To Arizona And Back. I just completed a round trip via air. Now I know why I would often prefer to spend the two days driving each way. It has become increasingly difficult to get to the airport, navigate your way through security, find your gate, and get herded onto the airplane with a hundred other passengers. I spent $108 in parking and airport shuttle services just getting to the airport. I endured the indignity of a carry-on search because an operator saw something she didn't like in the x-ray of my bag. When the search was conducted there was another surprise, Omigawd, I was busted. A half used tube of toothpaste. You would have thought I was trying to smuggle an AK47 into the flight. When I mentioned to the lady searching my bag that I thought Arizona was the worst airport around in getting through security, she informed me that she was glad to hear that because it meant that they were more diligent in enforcing the rules. I knew the best policy at that point was to shut up and get outta there as soon as I could. I hope someday they catch someone trying to sneak through with a toothpaste tube filled with C-4 explosive. Then maybe all this hassle would have been worth it.