Tuesday, August 02, 2005
At Play In The Coal Fields Of The Lord
So the price of oil hit a new record yesterday after the death of King Faud. No doubt the superstitious bone-rattlers that make up the investment community thought the Saudis so bereft by grief that they might shut down the oil fields and market sand paintings instead. What a crock. But what a money-making crock!
As Bush prepares to sign the upcoming energy bill, with its massive giveaways to big oil and no thought at all given to conservation outside of extending daylight savings time, it's useful to remember that, despite skyrocketing prices, U.S. consumption of gasoline keeps rising (up almost 2 1/2% since last year). Not a new fuel efficiency standard in sight, and plenty of tax incentives to buy ludicrously dysfunctional monstrosities like Hummers. Like our houses, our helpings, and our conversations, we like our cars big and loud, and we have no patience for mealy-mouths blathering about conservation, discipline, and sacrifice. So we gave ourselves a president whose idea of sacrifice for the common good is to get out the credit card and go shopping.
In addition, the bill dramatically increases funds for nuclear energy, while the world tsk-tsks at Iran for wanting to do the same thing. Coal, too, gets a boost, but long-gone are the days when that would mean work for miners. Coalbed methane extraction and new terraforming techniques reduce the number and kinds of workers needed while eliminating unsightly mountains and neighborhoods.
No sense looking for a reasonable approach from that bunch of panicky old sheep in the Congress, and useless to expect a logical idea to materialize from the coke-addled brain of a president who thinks science is something that supports the Book of Elijah. Let the kids and grandkids deal with it, just like they can deal with the deficit, rogue nuclear meltdowns, and the collapse of the currency market. "Make a buck while the sun shines" is their motto, and let tomorrow take care of itself.
But just in case, get a Supreme Court justice on the bench who'll rubber stamp your environmental agenda and get behind the energy industries that have been so good to you and yours.
As Bush prepares to sign the upcoming energy bill, with its massive giveaways to big oil and no thought at all given to conservation outside of extending daylight savings time, it's useful to remember that, despite skyrocketing prices, U.S. consumption of gasoline keeps rising (up almost 2 1/2% since last year). Not a new fuel efficiency standard in sight, and plenty of tax incentives to buy ludicrously dysfunctional monstrosities like Hummers. Like our houses, our helpings, and our conversations, we like our cars big and loud, and we have no patience for mealy-mouths blathering about conservation, discipline, and sacrifice. So we gave ourselves a president whose idea of sacrifice for the common good is to get out the credit card and go shopping.
In addition, the bill dramatically increases funds for nuclear energy, while the world tsk-tsks at Iran for wanting to do the same thing. Coal, too, gets a boost, but long-gone are the days when that would mean work for miners. Coalbed methane extraction and new terraforming techniques reduce the number and kinds of workers needed while eliminating unsightly mountains and neighborhoods.
No sense looking for a reasonable approach from that bunch of panicky old sheep in the Congress, and useless to expect a logical idea to materialize from the coke-addled brain of a president who thinks science is something that supports the Book of Elijah. Let the kids and grandkids deal with it, just like they can deal with the deficit, rogue nuclear meltdowns, and the collapse of the currency market. "Make a buck while the sun shines" is their motto, and let tomorrow take care of itself.
But just in case, get a Supreme Court justice on the bench who'll rubber stamp your environmental agenda and get behind the energy industries that have been so good to you and yours.
