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Yes it is. To put this in perspective as far as it's futility, in 2019 the United States was producing over 12 million barrels of oil a DAY. Opening up strate

by JPKab 5y ago

Yes it is. To put this in perspective as far as it's futility, in 2019 the United States was producing over 12 million barrels of oil a DAY. Opening up strategic reserves to reduce fuel prices undermines whatever reasoning he had to halt all new oil and gas leases on Federal land. My neighbor, a welder in the natural gas industry, was laid off early this year due to the freeze on new leases. Biden just does whatever his team tells him to do that minute. I voted for him, but I've never in my life felt more regret for voting for someone. He was supposed to be a moderate Democrat which is what I've always voted for. He's a radical but with less conviction. The team around him oscillate between ivory tower detachment and radical activism that is out of touch with the public. As a result he's going to undergo a policy which will succeed only in making the US less prepared for a disaster requiring the reserve. Fuel prices won't really be dented much. CO2 emissions will still go into the atmosphere so nobody wins except for activists who think it's okay if oil comes from another place but not from here. And my neighbor across the street is still out of work when there are numerous wildcatters who could employ him if they could start drilling with the now high prices making them very profitable. They can't due to the lease freeze and he's still out of work. And the CO2 is still going into the atmosphere one way or another. All of it is just theater to please radical activists like my father who never heard a MSNBC talking point he didn't parrot.

ericd 5y ago
While I’m disappointed that we’re opening up the strategic reserve, and I wish your neighbors weren’t out of work, the rest of what you’re complaining about all sounds sensible to me. To continue to maintain the status quo is frankly suicidal. Oil and gas prices should be much higher than they are. The current cost to remove the CO2 from a gallon of gas using direct air capture is something like $6-9. It will be a painful realignment, but there’s no way people will reorganize in the ways that they must if gas remains at $2-3/gallon.
- syshum 5y ago
  People like you are frankly insane if you think the public will accept $9/gal gas (and the insane inflation of all goods that will cause) I bet you also proclaim the desire to help the poor as well, never understanding that your policies are very regressive and the "pain" you talk about is literal starvation for thousands of American families due to these terrible economic policies You want to ensure Democrats never enter office again, have them promote $9/gal gas as a goal of their policies. That is with out even touching the fact that it would really do nothing for the climate as India, China, etc simply make up the difference while US Living standards drop, and the US ceases to be a Economic Power. Holy cow I could not think any one could be that out of touch
  - JPKab 5y ago
    These people just love them some social engineering. At the heart of it is a firm belief that if THEY had been the dictator instead of Stalin, they could have created paradise. They just need control. And when they get it, and things start to fall apart, the reason is always that they don't have ENOUGH control. It's not their policies failing, it's the lack of faith by your neighbors. "Blame them, they are the enemy. I can create utopia, but only if your neighbors stop complaining and demonstrate faith." It's just narcissism from laptop bubble boys.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - ericd 5y ago
      I don’t think a market-based solution pricing in externalities would be the approach of choice for any Soviet dictator… What would be your proposal for how to avoid >2 degrees C?
  - ericd 5y ago
    The person that’s out of touch is the person you made up in your head. Obviously it’s politically unpopular. I’m not saying we should drop a $9/gallon tax on gas. Just pointing out that that’s what it currently costs to undo the damage that that gallon does via one method of carbon sequestration (the one with the fewest trade-offs). But if we did implement a carbon tax, I’d hope it was coupled with rebates from the revenue to make it non-regressive. It could be made such that yearly rebates could offset the higher gas prices for those driving the average amount, while it becomes much more expensive to fly, which would impact the wealthy more. No one is advocating for allowing families to starve. That’s actually one of the major reasons to try to combat climate change, to prevent widespread famine.
- JPKab 5y ago
  If we're going to undertake aggressive policies that hurt the poor, why don't we freeze all trade with China? The CCP is building a new coal fired plant a week. Their CO2 emissions have doubled while the US' has gone down. Their emissions gains vastly offset our reductions. (Yes, I understand the per capita numbers, but more CO2 is more CO2. The atmosphere doesn't care about equity or fairness.) No, that would disrupt far too many industries and hurt the wallet of people in the laptop class, so it won't happen. Let's just force people who drive for a living or work with their hands to suffer. Meanwhile, folks reading this took a hot shower this morning. They could have taken a cold shower. They could set their thermostat to 60 in the winter and 80 in the summer. But the laptop class don't sacrifice for the planet. They just posture and support policies that hurt people who make less than them, like welders, drillers, truck drivers, etc.
  - trasz 5y ago
    Nice story, but China is also building nuclear like crazy. The US doesn’t.
  - ericd 5y ago
    I actually agree, we should put up more trade barriers that favor local manufacturing, in the form of a carbon tax. It would naturally make local/distributed manufacturing more cost competitive with foreign. Manufactured goods would get more expensive, but much of that increase would be going to the blue collar set in the US, they’d get a lot more leverage to push for higher wages. And a large portion of the tax should be distributed back to people to make it so it doesn’t end up being regressive.

by JPKab 5y ago

ericd 5y ago

While I’m disappointed that we’re opening up the strategic reserve, and I wish your neighbors weren’t out of work, the rest of what you’re complaining about all sounds sensible to me. To continue to maintain the status quo is frankly suicidal. Oil and gas prices should be much higher than they are. The current cost to remove the CO2 from a gallon of gas using direct air capture is something like $6-9. It will be a painful realignment, but there’s no way people will reorganize in the ways that they must if gas remains at $2-3/gallon.

syshum 5y ago
People like you are frankly insane if you think the public will accept $9/gal gas (and the insane inflation of all goods that will cause) I bet you also proclaim the desire to help the poor as well, never understanding that your policies are very regressive and the "pain" you talk about is literal starvation for thousands of American families due to these terrible economic policies You want to ensure Democrats never enter office again, have them promote $9/gal gas as a goal of their policies. That is with out even touching the fact that it would really do nothing for the climate as India, China, etc simply make up the difference while US Living standards drop, and the US ceases to be a Economic Power. Holy cow I could not think any one could be that out of touch
- JPKab 5y ago
  These people just love them some social engineering. At the heart of it is a firm belief that if THEY had been the dictator instead of Stalin, they could have created paradise. They just need control. And when they get it, and things start to fall apart, the reason is always that they don't have ENOUGH control. It's not their policies failing, it's the lack of faith by your neighbors. "Blame them, they are the enemy. I can create utopia, but only if your neighbors stop complaining and demonstrate faith." It's just narcissism from laptop bubble boys.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - ericd 5y ago
    I don’t think a market-based solution pricing in externalities would be the approach of choice for any Soviet dictator… What would be your proposal for how to avoid >2 degrees C?
- ericd 5y ago
  The person that’s out of touch is the person you made up in your head. Obviously it’s politically unpopular. I’m not saying we should drop a $9/gallon tax on gas. Just pointing out that that’s what it currently costs to undo the damage that that gallon does via one method of carbon sequestration (the one with the fewest trade-offs). But if we did implement a carbon tax, I’d hope it was coupled with rebates from the revenue to make it non-regressive. It could be made such that yearly rebates could offset the higher gas prices for those driving the average amount, while it becomes much more expensive to fly, which would impact the wealthy more. No one is advocating for allowing families to starve. That’s actually one of the major reasons to try to combat climate change, to prevent widespread famine.
JPKab 5y ago
If we're going to undertake aggressive policies that hurt the poor, why don't we freeze all trade with China? The CCP is building a new coal fired plant a week. Their CO2 emissions have doubled while the US' has gone down. Their emissions gains vastly offset our reductions. (Yes, I understand the per capita numbers, but more CO2 is more CO2. The atmosphere doesn't care about equity or fairness.) No, that would disrupt far too many industries and hurt the wallet of people in the laptop class, so it won't happen. Let's just force people who drive for a living or work with their hands to suffer. Meanwhile, folks reading this took a hot shower this morning. They could have taken a cold shower. They could set their thermostat to 60 in the winter and 80 in the summer. But the laptop class don't sacrifice for the planet. They just posture and support policies that hurt people who make less than them, like welders, drillers, truck drivers, etc.
- trasz 5y ago
  Nice story, but China is also building nuclear like crazy. The US doesn’t.
- ericd 5y ago
  I actually agree, we should put up more trade barriers that favor local manufacturing, in the form of a carbon tax. It would naturally make local/distributed manufacturing more cost competitive with foreign. Manufactured goods would get more expensive, but much of that increase would be going to the blue collar set in the US, they’d get a lot more leverage to push for higher wages. And a large portion of the tax should be distributed back to people to make it so it doesn’t end up being regressive.