The specter of $4 a gallon gas is nearly upon us and there is no reason to believe that the climb will stop there. The obstacles placed in the path of getting inexpensive gasoline from the ground into your gas tank push us towards a tipping point. OPEC, the international association designed to regulate oil production, is only one aspect of the problem. Regulated supply combined with ever escalating demand has made the price of oil skyrocket. That is combined with the domestic obstacles of not tapping our own vital supplies, while relying ever increasingly upon foreign refining since we have regulated new refineries out of any possibility in this country.
In other words market pressures on oil are making it more difficult to rationalize our dependence upon this particular product. Meanwhile all energy prices rise along with oil. This produces pressures that can hurt, but also provide opportunities. This leads to my questions.
Why haven't we seen more private interest in coal liquefaction? Governor Manchin is interested and pushing for federal help. One would think that the coal companies would be interested enough to help make it happen. Are they heavily involved? If not, why?
Why are liberals so dead set against wind energy? We can put wind farms on the ridges over towns like Keyser and not ruin any natural, pristine views. If the county commission does not like it, the city ought to annex the land and reap the economic and tax benefits. The city needs money and it lacks industry. This could be a big part of a revitalized Keyser or Petersburg, or any other economically distressed town in the region near a high wind area.
Why have we as a state not looked into hydroelectric power? Tennessee gets most of their electricity from dams on small to moderate sized rivers. How many dams do we have on the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers (which we own!) Why can't we adapt Summersville and Sutton Dam for hydroelectric capabilities? Union Carbide constructed a hydroelectric plant decades ago off of the New River, which is a fairly small stream.
Why hasn't West Virginia tapped into its massive gas reserves more effectively?
At what point will market pressures eliminate the internal combustion engine? To me, we should start seeing these pressures hit a tipping point soon. The beauty of capitalism is that it rewards the forward thinking, the least expensive, and the most efficient. I'd say in ten years or maybe less we'll either see the market pressures subside drastically, or we will (more likely) witness technological revolutions that the oil companies will either be a big part of, or be destroyed by. Same with auto makers.
The best way to see development is to let the market work without excessive intervention. Push and prod, don't tax and regulate. That is how we'll see our energy questions solved most effectively.
Are all the ridges in WV publicly owned? If so, maybe the governments should auction them off and people can then develop the wind resources on their own. I'd much rather see local property owners get $$ for development- one of the long term flaws in Appalachian development has been that historically, people have been forces to sell out to miners/developers, and thus don't reap the benefits directly.
ReplyDeleteIf local landholders can develop their wind-water resources themselves, the state will be much better off.