[lit-ideas] Re: Sunday
- From: Andy <mimi.erva@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:50:47 -0700 (PDT)
The McGovern anecdote could use a fact check.
The SU invaded Afghanistan in 1979 so it was essentially Reagan's war, and the
1979 Iranian revolution was blowback for CIA interference in Iran in the
1950's. As far as blaming Carter for the CIA's competence or lack thereof, why
did not Reagan correct the situation if it needed to be corrected? Likewise
George Sr. had been actual head of the CIA. Why did he not step in and correct
things? Are you suggesting that Republican presidents subsequent to Carter
were all engaging in learned helplessness? Clinton contrary to popular belief
expanded the use of the military. He was quite the imperial president. He
spoke softly but carried a big stick.
As far as conservation, Carter was right. In fact, Carter was absolutely
right. Conservation is the only solution for oil dependency. Energy
independence is a myth. It can't be done. The only solution is extreme
conservation, including public transporation; high density housing (but not
particularly high rise, it takes too much electricity to run the elevators);
eating locally; and yes, most assuredly, sweaters. Carter's synfuel project
never got off the ground because there is no way to create a fuel with the BTU
density of oil. Physically it can't be done. Hydrogen is but a vehicle for
energy; it's not energy. Coal is dirty, expensive to convert such that it's
virtually not worth converting and it takes a lot of another quickly dwindling
resource, which is water. Wind and solar are good but they don't have smallest
fraction of the caloric density of oil; wind/solar as now constituted might
meet 1% of our needs. Ocean waves
have potential, but that's limited to areas near the coast and again, nothing
even approaching oil.
And drilling won't work because the reserves, so called, since they're not
reserves because they haven't been discovered yet, might last a few months,
maybe a year, at today's rates of consumption. That they'll discover another
Saudi Arabia is extremely unlikely. Plus it will take about ten years to
bring anything on line because there has been no investment in infrastructure.
Our rigs are all over 25 years old and rusting out since oil is very corrosive,
some as old as 80 years.
Guess why there's no investment? Because companies know oil is a dying
resource and they're not sinking money into it. There's also a terrible
shortage of oil engineers. Physicists were sidelined for hocus pocus with
derivatives along with other people who might have otherwise gone into science
but instead lusted to become hedge fund managers. So conservation is in fact
the one major resource we have left. Like it or not, it is the best answer to
our energy crisis. Carter knew it and it's more true than ever.
Unfortunately, people have yet to figure it out.
--- On Tue, 10/21/08, Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Eric Yost <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Sunday
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 6:16 PM
>>Carter's debacle presidency?
Some years ago, at a Democrat function, George McGovern
was asked to name the worst US President. To the
chagrin of his audience, who had perhaps expected
Reagan to be mentioned for his deficit spending,
McGovern chose Jimmy Carter.
Many US geopolitical problems trace to Carter's term,
including the present banking crisis, Islamic
radicalism's proliferation, our incompetent CIA, and so
on. If you recall, his solution to the energy crisis
was not a strong initiative for independence, but the
televised image of Jimmy himself in his cardigan
sweater with the White House thermostat turned way
down. Not exactly inspiring.
Carter came out of nowhere too, just like Obama. No one
knew Carter 18 months before the election, just like
Obama. Hope it's not one of those Vico moments.
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