[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Add the dramatic escalation in food costs, and this would to make a compelling case for focusing more resources towards oil shale development and less towards bigger fields of corn.

Barry Ritholz wrote:

US Policies with an impact on Energy:

Quote:

Limit areas available for offshore drilling; Stopped the planned rise of CAFE standards for automobiles; Restricted Nuclear Power generation of Electrical; Federal Reserve policies since 2001 led to a very weak US dollar (raising Oil prices); Energy Conservation Policies? None Provided little or no Incentives for Hybrid Automobiles; No major US R&D research on energy; Game changing breakthroughs over the past decades in solar, battery, or energy generation technologies? None Failed to raise efficiency standards for appliances for decades; Iraq and Afghanistan Wars contributing to Middle East tensions Kept CAFE standards for light trucks/SUVs much lower than autos; Ridiculous Corn Ethanol policy (driving food prices higher as Oil rises); Mass transit system is not a priority; No special capital gains treatment for VC alt.energy investment Failed to aggressively promote efficiency improvements for residential energy use, transmission of power, or consumption; Amongst the lowest Gasoline Taxes in the developed world; Limited Hydro-electric power generation; Created a Tax incentive (ADCS) that encouraged purchases of large inefficient vehicles; Aggressive tax incentives for Battery Technology development? None Exempted light trucks, SUVs, and Pickups from gas-guzzler tax; Discouraged Clean Coal, including Gas Liquification from Coal; Limited or non-exisitent State Tax Incentives for building Energy Efficient Homes; Failed to aggressively promote compact fluorescent light bulb; Allowed Tax Credits for Residential Solar Power to Expire; Americans, on average, live further from where they work than Europeans do; No special Capital Gains Tax treatment for Clean Energy Technology Development;

He calls it collectively the George Castanza strategy. With a track record like this, I don't think oil shale harvesting is going to help with the current crisis. In fact, it is not even on his list. The Canadian Tar sands took 25 years to develop.