Energy Independence

      Many Facebook friends have posted recently bemoaning America's supposed dependence on noxious regimes such as Venezuela, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Russia for part of our oil supply.  Somehow, they imply that if only we could produce all the oil we consume, prices at the pump would fall to some tolerable level. 

     Like it or not, we live in an interconnected world.   If the price of oil on the world market soars to $200.00 per barrel do we really think Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, et. al. would keep all their oil in fortress America and charge less than the going price.  I've got a bridge for sale.   We are already a net exporter of oil and distilled petroleum products.   We could turn the public lands of this country into a wasteland of drilling rigs and it still won't change the equation.   According to economic experts, oil is a product with inelastic demand.   A few percent more or less can produce wild price swings.

      The only way to real energy independence is to get off the oil habit and switch to renewables.

Embracing the inevitable

         The world consumes over 90 million barrels of oil per day.   With increased economic growth that figure will continue to rise.  Also, the CO2 level in the atmosphere will rise in lockstep with this increased  economic activity.  War or not, the price of oil will continue to rise on the world market.   

         We have had numerous opportunities over the last 50 years to switch to cleaner energy and avoid ecological catastrophe.   A modest tax on each barrel of crude would have funded the research into renewables.  Unfortunately, whenever such a tax was discussed it was immediately put down as inimical to the free market.   Now we are reaping what we have sowed.   We are now in the 11th hour and Vladimir Putin is ironically doing us a favor with his brutal invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent turmoil in the energy markets.

       Now is the time to declare war on fossil fuels.   We need to jumpstart energy research into fusion technology, electric vehicles and solar and wind energy.   Government subsidies in all these areas need to increase exponentially.   We can still do this, but it will take political will on the part of Democrats and patriotic Republicans.  

The right kind of refugee

       Without taking anything away from the generous response by eastern European nations to the Ukranian refugee crisis, I think it is legitimate to compare this reaction to another Putin inspired fiasco.   When millions of Syrians showed up at their borders, the response by countries such as Hungary was to put up barbed wire to keep desperate women and children out.   The only difference between the two situations is the color of the Syrians' skins and their religion.   Let's face it, most people will accept those who look like us  and reject those who don't. 

Is Archduke Ferdinand in the house

        The Russian army in Ukraine attacked and captured the largest nuclear power plant in the country yesterday and this morning.  Fortunately, it seems there won't be a second Chernobyl.  But it seems the world is slouching toward a wider war.   

      Many media commenters have compared the invasion of Ukraine to the beginning of WW2.  Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939 seems to compare quite well with Putin's war of choice in 2022.   The biggest difference is the treaty which obliged Britain and France to defend Poland's sovereignty.  Ukraine has no such treaties with the West.   

      This makes the events of the past few weeks resemble the situation before the guns of August were heard.  A series of minor misunderstandings embroiled Europe in a war of attrition.  Ukraine seems to be settling into a similar situation.  Pictures of the suffering civilian population and brave partisan fighters will tempt the powers to push their aid to Ukraine past Putin's tolerance and the punishing economic sanctions against Russia may push him into a corner like the rat he has become. Anything might twitch his hand to the nuclear trigger.  Beware of cornered rats.

In like a lion

         3 days into March and the weather here in the north country is reminiscent of January with highs in the low 20s and lows near zero at night.   Light snow on a daily basis keeps the accumulation around 10-12 inches.   Frankly, most residents aside from ski enthusiasts are tired of winter.   Unfortunately, based on experience we can look forward to another month of winter, followed by mud season.   Ugh!

Bad Faith abides

         Most Republicans who attended the State of the Union address last night felt obligated to stand and even applaud as Joe Biden explained the administration's policy to rein in Russia and support the people of Ukraine as they resist the might of the Russian army.  However, that gesture did not extend to protecting the right to vote of their own constituents.

       As the world scrambles to support Ukraine, all the problems democracy has been facing remain.  Illiberal laws passed by many GOP controlled legislatures effectively restrict the right to vote by people of color, younger voters and women.   Gerrymandered districts allow Republicans to remain in control of these legislatures even when they attract less than 50% of the vote.   We represent ourselves to the world as the avatar of democracy when in fact we have allowed a minority party to usurp the prerogatives of the majority.   The money of the oligarchy in this country has allowed this to happen.  How much different are we than the population of Russia?

Russian military is the new Potemkin village

         In 1787, a series of sham, prosperous villages, much like the false front towns built for early western movies, were built in Crimea by a courtier of Empress Catherine 2nd of Russia.   She was to make a tour of the area to confirm the information of a loyal and prosperous peasantry she was assured existed.   The phrase "Potemkin Village" has passed into popular history to denote a pleasant exterior hiding a rotten or non-existent interior.   Such may be the present state of the Russian military.

       Putin expected his army to make short work of the badly overmatched Ukrainian military.   It hasn't happened and instead of flowers, the Russians are being greeted with molotov cocktails and bullets.   The situation may turn around in the Russians' favor in the next few days, but the myth of superiority of the country's military has been punctured for the time being.