An Open Letter to Congress- by Joe Lalumia
I have started a new blog called Energy Now!--
www.neighborsgo.com/blog/boatman2 Visit this blog for my energy crisis discussion-- thanks, Joe Lalumia
You know, I am just a fairly normal, reasonably intelligent, 61
year old; but it simply amazes me how Congress has not yet enacted a
comprehensive energy policy. What are they waiting for? Beats me if a simpleton
type American like me knows what needs to be done to put “the fear of god” into
the oil speculators, OPEC Kingdoms, and assorted other despots and dictators that currently control the global oil market.
I was greatly disappointed, but not surprised, to hear that the Democrats had again
blocked a Bill last week that would allow our US
oil companies to drill for oil and natural gas offshore USA.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,365627,00.html Did you know that there are 86 BILLION
barrels of oil off US shores? – But Congressional Democrats and the environmental lobby have
blocked drilling there for decades, along with blocking shale oil production in portions
of the Rocky Mountains, not associated with any National
Parks , that contain MORE Billions of barrels of oil? This to me is total and complete madness!
So without further ado, I would like to present my plan to
solve America’s
current energy crisis, and to negatively impact the global oil cartels and
commodity speculators:
Joe’s
US Energy Independence Act
of 2008
- Congress shall establish a Congressional Panel of nuclear scientists, physicists, and energy moguls,
whose only duty will be to pick ONE nuclear power plant design which can be
quickly cloned several hundred times, until 65% - 70% of the total US electric requirements are generated
by nuclear fission. The Congressional Panel will have 9 months to pick ONE nuclear power plant design which can be
replicated quickly and operated safely. Congress is mandated to accept
their design recommendations --AS IS without changes or alterations.
Further, Congress will enable the tax rebates and tax credits to offset the
construction of these plants with a 15 year moratorium on Federal Taxes
and immediate depreciation schedules for their capital equipment costs,
for the operating electric Company and or its stockholders; and further,
the STATES, under the Interstate Commerce Clause, and Eminent Domain, will
also be prevented from collecting taxes of any kind on these new plants
for a period of 15 years after full electric generation and operation
begins. Infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and sewers, which are
necessary for plant construction and normal operation, will be paid for by
the Federal government, using a portion of the current highway funds.
- Congress
will immediately open up all Federal lands or ocean areas for exploration,
drilling and recovery of oil and natural gas and-or other energy related resources. This includes the small (3%)
of land in the Arctic Refuge, or any other area that may become known as
an energy resource for these products in the future. The only exception
shall be our National Parks, where a 51% majority vote of both Houses of
Congress is needed to drill in these special areas. Oil exploration
companies would receive a 50% oil depletion allowance against the first
ten (10) years of production. The depletion allowance will be calculated
against the average annual production for the first 5 years. Congress will
abate all Federal taxes and or fees on the profits of these wells for a
period of 7 years, and in the interest of National Security will prevent any and all environmental lawsuits during
construction, which would raise costs and slow construction. Additionally, the permit process for drilling and exploration on Leased Government Property, or any other drilling site on or offshore, currently spread across more than 40 government agencies, will be reduced to ONE agency of government. This government Department-Agency must finish the permit process within 12 months from receipt of the application. (and not the current 5-7 years). If said Government Agency does not complete the permit process within 12 months of receiving the application, the permit will be considered to be properly processed and drilling and exploration will proceed at the full discretion of the applicant oil company, exploration company, partnership, joint venture company, or LLC company.
- Congress
will mandate that all fossil fuel vehicles produced or sold in the USA
will achieve a minimum of 33 mpg by 2013, and 36 mpg by 2018. This law
will be written in such as way as to be SAFE
from changes by any future Congress except for INCREASES in MPG standards.
These same minimum mileage standards will also apply to any electric or
hybrid engine vehicle. The only exception will be over the road trucks
which shall achieve a minimum fleet mileage increase of 8% by 2013 and 12%
by 2018. Congress will permit a tax credit for any and all expenses,
including research and development costs, that may be incurred
“streamlining” the airflow on large trucks, and-or any technological
improvements that generate at least a 2% increase in average fuel mileage
as verified by the EPA. Additionally, Federal Income Tax credits, and or
vouchers, would be enacted by Congress of $4000 per vehicle, for the
purchase of any 4 passenger motor vehicle that can exceed 46 miles per
gallon city as measured by the EPA. (2 passenger weight test- 46.1 mpg
qualifies for the tax credit) (zero emission vehicles that exceed this city
mileage test receive a $6000 tax credit)
- Congress
will waive the particulate emission standards for small diesel engines
such as the kind presently used extensively in Western Europe
so that these modern, very fuel efficient engines may be used in the USA
without emission changes.Further,
Congress will mandate that all emission standards associated with the sale
of motor vehicles, are the domain of the Federal government and NOT the
states; and that the Federal emission standard takes precedence for all vehicles
which may cross state boundaries sometime during their lifetime, under the
Interstate Commerce Clause. The current Federal emission standards will be
FROZEN for a period of 15 years from the enactment of this law. Congress
would also mandate that all motor vehicles built or imported after 2011
must be E85 capable.
- Congress
will mandate the END to the production of state mandated “boutique” fuel
blends and provide no more than eight (8) LEGAL types of motor vehicle fuels
nationally. (The 40+ blends currently state mandated prevent fuel from one
state – from being used in adjoining states, and further complicates the refining and transportation of fuel products. This is in the interest of National Security.)
- Congress
will provide generous tax incentives including an 80% tax credit for the
construction costs of any and all renewable power generation such as
solar, wind, geothermal, water, ocean tides, and any other renewable
source that may be discovered in the future. This tax credit to be applied
as the Company constructing such renewable energy plant may desire, and in
any fashion they may wish against- stockholder dividend income
distributions, Federal Income Taxes, or any other Federal license or fee.
Additionally, Congress will mandate fifteen (15) year Income Tax abatement
on any and all profits made by such renewable energy power generating
plants.
- Congress
will initiate a broad based “moon shot” style program using NASA
scientists, major University research laboratories, and government labs to
find the next new energy source, and to assist in the discovery of new
energy technologies. Ethanol subsidies, sugar subsidies, and other farm
subsidies will be discontinued and the funds applied exclusively and
entirely to this research project. The best and most brilliant US
scientists will be granted substantial funding to achieve breakthroughs in
renewable energy, nuclear fusion, and other advanced energy technologies
such as coal gasification and liquedation, shale oil production improvements,
and tar sands research. The Department of Energy scientists and staff will
direct and work exclusively on this break-through project.
- The
“moon shot” energy program will assist and fund basic research into clean
coal technologies such as liquefaction, and gasification; and totally fund
all research and development costs of low cost shale micro-converters as
reported in the Dallas Morning News- on June 15, 2008. Once a proven
system of micro-conversion is developed the Energy Bill would shift
funding to Federal Tax credits and incentives as listed in #12 below.
- The
current import tariff on imported finished Ethanol products will be
removed so that lower cost sugar based fuel may be imported at reduced
cost, while research and development work is completed to produce this
product within the USA
from sources that are NOT our food supply. Further until such time as Ethanol can be produced from non-food products, the addition of Ethanol to gasoline will be at the discretion of the refining Company. At such time as a viable technology is developed that does not impact our food supply, Ethanol will again be produced but only at the E85 percent mix, and without subsidies of any kind.
- Congress
will mandate that the military be allowed to refine their own fuels using
land already under their control or other land designated by the
Department of the Interior, and are permitted to construct enough military
refineries to meet the projected fuel requirement of all service branches
for the next 35 years. (A similar Bill has already been introduced in
Congress!) In conjuction with the provisions of this Bill the Department of the Interior will remove all references restricting oil and gas exploration and drilling from all Leases affecting BLM controlled Federal Property.
- Congress
would mandate Federal lighting standards using fully shielded lower
wattage fixtures on all Interstate Highways, and Federal Buildings. For national
security reasons --- lowering our national energy requirements—the law
would mandate that only these types of lower wattage --fully
shielded-reflective fixtures can be sold in the USA.
Additionally the new law would mandate that, all local building codes
would need to meet Federal energy standards regarding minimum insulation
requirements, and HVAC seer standards. These energy use standards would
extend to any and all large electrical appliances, such as computers, TVs,
water heaters, ranges, ovens, refrigerators, and freezers. The “stand-by”
feature of some appliances would be illegal to manufacture, except for
military, medical, or law enforcement purposes and or for public safety
requirements. The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America
recommendations would be followed, along with the Association of Energy
Engineers.
- Congress
will promote the construction of new refineries by mandating the same
environmental lawsuit protection as in #2 above during construction of
said refining plants; Congress will enact Federal tax credits covering 50%
of the construction costs of these new refineries. Additionally, Federal
Income Taxes on the profits of these new refineries will be abated for a
period of 7 years beginning on the 3rd full year of plant operation.
This tax incentive shall apply to new technology refining operations as
they become viable in the future.
- Congress
will initiate treaty talks with both Canada
and Mexico
regarding the vast energy resources available on the North American
Continent. Trade agreements for the efficient mining, drilling, transporting, and refining of oil, coal, shale, tar
sands, and all other energy resources on the North American Continent and
offshore, would be negotiated so that the combined energy resource
potential of all three countries could be utilized AGAINST the oil cartels
operating throughout the world. (Canada and Mexico export oil right
now—and we have a 300 year supply of coal and 86 billion barrels of oil
offshore-- these resources could be used as a trade “weapon” against the
oil cartels- especially if they manipulate supply in order to negatively affect global prices) Creating NAPEA - North American Petroleum Exporting Association.
If we actually did all of the above several things would
happen—
- We
would put the “fear” into the oil speculators and the cartels, especially
as they saw and heard the USA
Congressional commitment to a broad based energy program; that includes a
“moon shot” style effort to achieve an energy breakthrough.
- Oil
futures prices would collapse with the increased USA
production- as the USA
pumps more oil and natural gas, and brings the nuclear plants on-line.
- The
new nuclear plants would not generate CO2 so we would be doing our part in
reducing our carbon emissions.
- Nuclear
plant safety and maintenance would be enhanced due to the single design.
- Money
wasted on farm and sugar subsidies that benefit only large producers would
be spent securing our FUTURE energy technology.
- Refineries
would only need to produce and transport a limited number of fuels (8) reducing
refining and transportation change-over expenses; and making transfers of
fuel reserves between states possible.
- General
food costs would fall once corn and oil products are removed from our fuel
tank! Why would we want to BURN our FOOD
SUPPLY!
- There
would be a huge increase in exploration and discovery of new oil and gas
fields—dramatically increasing supply- and this would be OUR OIL
& GAS. There are BILLIONS of
barrels of oil available offshore. Why can foreign countries drill there,
but American companies are prevented by law from drilling in these same
offshore areas? This is the height of madness!
- Imported
Ethanol at greatly reduced international prices would immediately lower
the average price of gasoline.
- Within
13 years the US
car fleet would have converted to higher fuel mileage cars, and the US
fleet would be largely zero emission.
- The
best minds in America
as they always have— would achieve breakthrough energy technology…….. And
the OPEC monopoly on oil would be broken!
- Breakthrough
research in clean coal technologies would permit us to use the 300 year
supply of coal, located within the USA,
for the production of oil and natural gas. This would substantially reduce
our need to import oil from foreign sources.
- Exploration companies will not spend 7 years applying for a drilling permit on Federal Lands-- only to be able to actually drill for 2-3 years on a 10 year Federal Lease. Streamlining the permit process will get the Government out of the way of the entrepreneurs. Additionally the Lease agreements should be altered to give the Lessee the exclusive first right to renew the land Lease (re-negotiated) for another 10 years at no more than a 10% increase in Lease costs. The Lease should also contain a Lessee right of first refusal for a period not to exceed 70 years.
- NAPEA could alter production to affect the global oil price by increasing supply during times of unrest, war, or natural disaster. Yes we could -- if we fully utilized the trillions of barrels of oil located right here in the USA- Canada - and Mexico.
So there it is folks. Are there several dumb ideas in the
above paragraphs? I am sure there are. But let me ask you --- have you heard
anything similar to this from our politicians? In at least this much
detail? In the paper or on TV?
That’s the really
scary part about our energy crisis --- total Congressional NON-ACTION! And when they DO
act—it’s only to block good legislation which could increase, substantially, the US production of oil and natural gas; or they
pass “light bulb” legislation outlawing conventional incandescent bulbs. We have hundreds of billions of barrels of oil reserves inside the USA. Latest estimates place our oil reserves at more than 1 TRILLION barrels recoverable! This does not include the trillions of cubic feet of natural gas on and off shore. We are energy rich--------- it's time for our Congress to enact a comprehensive energy bill, similar to the one I outlined above. Then they need to get out of the way and let us DRILL IT!
Several Internet aricles on this subject:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42189-2005Apr10.html
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/u_s__has_massive_oil.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/apr/04/usnews.science
http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/consistency/media/MurphyOilcomments.pdf
http://dailymusings.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!EBAB74DA8F94C559!5319.entry
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/u_s__has_massive_oil.html
http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600125803,00.html
http://www.dailyreckoning.com/rpt/OilShale.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,365627,00.html
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=/
Commentary/archive/200806/COM20080604c.html
Copy & Paste these links-- the last article must be copied - pasted in two parts to get the long URL. However I encourage you to read it. It is a great commentary on the completely unreasonable and crazy restrictions placed on Federal land leases by the enviromentally controlled Congress-- and confirms the 86 Billion barrel number in my article for offshore oil reserves.
Additionally if you read all the articles -- some of which are 3-4 years old when oil was $50 a barrel-- it will become immediately evident that the massive shale reserves of the USA can now be extracted economically. Also notice the influence of the environmental lobby in several of the articles. Then start calling and writing your Congessional representative.
Now-- to quote several statements recently made by prominent Democrats-- these quotes can be found in this Fox News article:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,368221,00.html
"This should not be an attempt
to get the goods through customs ... scaring people into offering more
leases, more drilling opportunities, when they own 68 million acres, 14
years worth of supply, and are not drilling today," Rep. Rahm Emanuel,
D-Ill., said Wednesday.
Pat Creighton, a spokesman
for Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., who introduced the amendment to lift the
ban that failed in a subcommittee on Monday but was to be re-introduced
on Wednesday, suggested the decision to delay was for another reason.
"I think it's because our message is resonating," Creighton told FOX News.
"The
Democrats in Congress for years have been obstructing any sort of
domestic drilling in our country," Perino said of opposition to
drilling. "And I know they say we can't drill our way out of the
problem. It's like they are Pavlov's dogs responding. I would say if we
want to do more in this country, I think now the timing could be
different, I think people are realizing we need to do something on our
own and not rely on other countries anymore."
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, energy secretary during the Clinton administration, called it "another bad idea."
"It's
going to take 10 years to fully get that oil out of the ocean. It's a
fragile ecosystem," he said on CBS's "The Early Show." (BULL!-- the best fishing is around the oil rigs!)
Mentioning $4-per gallon
gasoline more than once, Bush said, "My administration has repeatedly
called on Congress to expand domestic oil production. Unfortunately,
Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal, and
now Americans are paying the price at the pump for this obstruction.
Barack Obama, the Democratic
candidate for president, opposes lifting the ban on offshore drilling
and says that allowing exploration now wouldn't affect gasoline prices
for at least five years. (of course they used the same argument 10 years ago!)
Obama also said there is "no
way that allowing offshore drilling would lower gas prices right now.
At best you are looking at five years or more down the road."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, lumping Bush with McCain, accused them of staging a "cynical campaign ploy" that won't help lower energy prices.
"Despite what President Bush, John McCain and their friends in the
oil industry claim, we cannot drill our way out of this problem," Reid
said. "The math is simple: America has just three percent of the
world's oil reserves, but Americans use a quarter of its oil." (this is an outright LIE!-- if we can extract the shale oil we have 1 TRILLION barrels-- which is three times the reserves of Saudia Arabia! The "reserve" number for the USA does not include the potential reserves locked up in our huge shale rock formations.)And-------- what exactly would YOUR energy plan consist of---- Senator Reid???????other than running your mouth before your brain kicks-in!
I apologize for being a part of the 60s generation of long haired hippies, who have grown up, cut their hair, bought a nice suit, and are now running the country!
The REAL -- dim objects – are not located in the sky---------but in Washington, DC!
Joe Lalumia
Rockwall, Texas
An unpaid unsolicited political announcement! :(
(more)
Most Recent Comments