Obama's Energy Plan - Stop Drilling???

I went out trying to fact check this apparently highly debated issue. It started with a comment that he intends to use an Executive Order to stop the Utah drilling and then there is the comment in FL that he intends to support the ban on offshore drilling. I tried googling his energy plan and could only find confusion, apparently he has gone both ways at one time or another.

Then I tried to access his website - it's gone. Just a picture of him with a pin that says Progress.
Very scary.

Does anyone KNOW what he plans to do with regards to drilling? He supports everything apparently but I could find nothing definitive except he says and I quote "we will never be completely independent of foreign oil...we shouldn't limit ourselves geographically". Sounds like his Arabic ties are already becoming an issue...??

I'm not sure I support the Utah drilling so close to National Parks - and frankly, we need to leave Yellowstone alone - that's kinda like j****** with a time bomb...
BUT I don't need gas up to $4-$6 again and it will take AT LEAST 10 years to further the development of the alternative energies he has supported, much less take them to full production.

Anybody have any info? Please share.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by James Everitt on November 18, 2008 at 11:59am

Contact: Mike Sepanic
msepanic@camden.rutgers.edu
856-225-6026
Rutgers University

Can renewable energy be sustained?
Rutgers scholar urges integration of new energy into current power grid
CAMDEN -- Engineers and entrepreneurs are rushing to explore alternative sources of efficient and renewable energy in New Jersey and elsewhere in the country. A Rutgers School of Business—Camden professor has strong words of caution as projects involving wind farms and photovoltaic cells proliferate.

With the electric-power industry poised for its most dramatic changes in decades, too little thought is being devoted to coordinating these piecemeal initiatives, warns Richard Michelfelder in a recent edition of The Electricity Journal, the leading policy journal for the electric industry.

The consequence, he fears, might well be a disastrous overload of the nation's electrical grid.

An assistant professor of finance at the Rutgers School of Business—Camden and former president and CEO of Quantum Consulting Inc., a national public utilities consulting firm based in Berkeley, Cal., Michelfelder comes to his assessment after a quarter-century in the energy-technology industry.

"When you start adding random assets to the grid, you also add the possibility of disruptions in the coordination of the flow of electricity," says Michelfelder.

His solution? Place the responsibility for promoting and exploring energy efficiency on the shoulders of utility companies, which are uniquely situated to take on the challenge because of their longtime role in generating and transporting energy to almost all consumers of electricity.

"There are utility companies owned by state entities, by federal entities, some owned by private investors.

Regardless of ownership, utilities are in the best position to promote energy efficiency, and should be in the business of providing expertise on it," says the Rutgers—Camden researcher.

Written with Peter Jansson, an associate professor of engineering at Rowan University, Michelfelder's article, "Integrating Renewables into the U.S. Grid: Is It Sustainable?," is generating a buzz of its own.

In it, the two scholars outline how the electric power industry in the United States is looking at unprecedented fundamental change in the foreseeable future, and note that with appropriate incentives, free-market forces can work to integrate renewables into the New Jersey and Pennsylvania grids.

Aggressive public policy plays a key role in that dynamic, according to Michelfelder. "In New Jersey, we've been promoting energy efficiency for many years. We've been ahead of the curve with both the utilities and the state adopting programs since the 1980s," the Rutgers—Camden professor explains.

Making energy use more efficient – in essence, obtaining equal or greater service from less energy use – makes good public policy, according to Michelfelder. He sums the benefits up in a list he calls the Five Es: stronger economy, higher employment, cleaner environment, more efficient businesses, and less reliance on foreign energy sources.

As a new president and Congress take over in January, the Brigantine resident hopes to see a long-term national energy policy that provides concrete incentives to foster energy efficiency and renewable resources.

"We've had a couple of energy policies in the past, but they really didn't have a lot of teeth in them in terms of promoting financial incentives," he notes.

Michelfelder's zeal for exploring ways to make better use of resources grew from a youth's natural curiosity about the world around him.

"I first became aware of the issue in 1973, as a 16-year-old pumping gas. When I started, the price was 29 cents a gallon. By the end of the year, it

Attachments:

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WhyShouldYoucareaboutEnergy.pdf, 18 KB
ThePlan_0710_01.pdf, 201 KB

Permalink Reply by James Everitt on November 18, 2008 at 5:43pm

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Permalink Reply by Larry M. Aden on November 18, 2008 at 7:42pm

Kelly, I saved a PDF file off Obama's site before they shut it down, if you send me an e-mail at lmaden@frontiernet.net, I will send it to you as an attachment.
It has an Energy section in it, totally in generalities.
I do know he supported the Dems recent false offshore drilling expansion bill, where they opened for drilling much of the offshore territory that has no oil under it, but put almost all of the area with oil permanently off limits.
They are a brilliant, yet devious, lot.

Permalink Reply by Earl Allen Boek on November 20, 2008 at 3:01pm

Larry all Obama group sites are still up, which site got shut down?

Permalink Reply by Kelly Crosby on November 21, 2008 at 6:52am

obamabiden.org

Permalink Reply by Raymond Baran on November 18, 2008 at 9:02pm

I live on the gulf of mexico in s.w. fla as far as i can tell no progress so far o the off shore drilling BUT.... U.S sugar is implementing a ethanol production facility here. In the everglades,its a start there using the cane or (CAINE)!!!! who knows but if there for real it will benefit someone. I will let you know if any policies are implemented Thanks Ray.

Permalink Reply by Earl Allen Boek on November 20, 2008 at 2:59pm

Regardless of ownership, utilities are in the best position to promote energy efficiency, and should be in the business of providing expertise on it," says the Rutgers—Camden researcher.
NOW

That's what the utilities want you to believe. Fact is, they are part of the problem, not the solution and many of them
are for profit corporations.

Having the utilities oversee any renewable energy program is like asking Big Oil and Gas, they know who they're
customers are too. But how much do you think their willing to conserve?

This suggestion, is like letting the wolfs guard the chicken coup. Not a good idea at all.

Permalink Reply by Kelly Crosby on November 21, 2008 at 6:53am

Unless they are co-ops - TVA does a pretty good job of promoting and using green energy.

Permalink Reply by Fred Mars on December 7, 2008 at 8:12pm

Isn't that the same as letting the oil industry regulate itself? Or the financial institutions that are all failing through self regulation?

The more solar/wind/geothermal energy is generated on local levels, the less significant the power company becomes as a supplier of a commodity. And the cost of power is reduced to the cost of the systems used to provide the energy and their maintenance.

Permalink Reply by James Everitt on November 21, 2008 at 7:45am

I'm writing to encourage you to vote for S. 2829, Senator Maria Cantwell's Clean Energy Development for a Growing Economy Act.

This forward-looking legislation lays the groundwork for changes that will
have a positive impact on the environment, the economy and foreign policy.

Cars and sport-utility vehicles currently guzzle 40 percent of America's
oil. Using the reduction of America's oil consumption by 6 million
barrels a day as a benchmark, the legislation will gradually introduce
flex-fuel vehicles into the marketplace and require service stations to
offer biofuel and ethanol. By 2020, the number of cars that run on
petroleum will be halved.

The Clean EDGE Act will accelerate our transition from fossil fuels to
renewable energy by requiring electric companies to derive at least 10
percent of their energy from renewable sources. Carbon emissions created
by fossil fuel combustion contribute to both immediate health problems and
long term damage to the environment.

An intensified focus on alternative energy technologies will be great for
business. Already the interest in energy alternatives has sparked the
inception of numerous consulting, research and marketing firms. The
creation of an estimated 500,000 clean, safe jobs harvesting energy from
the sun and wind will provide a boost to an economy that has seen much of
its manufacturing industry outsourced to other countries, as well as open
up new opportunities for scientists, inventors and engineers.

Reducing our dependence on oil will help us to uncouple our foreign policy
from our energy needs, an important step in strengthening our political
leverage with countries like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Sudan and the
Congo. And to protect consumers domestically, oil companies will be
penalized for price-gouging.

Please join the members of Congress who have shown their support for this
practical and necessary legislation, and vote for S. 2829.

Opening up the Transition means listening to your ideas and stories and
providing a window into how the process works.

To give you a look at how we're approaching some of the nation's most
pressing issues, we filmed this meeting of our Energy and Environment
Policy Transition Team and interviewed team member Heather Zichal.

Watch the video, then tell us your story, which energy and environment
issues are important to you, or what actions you'd like to see an
Obama-Biden administration take.:
http://www.change.gov/page/s/energyenviro

Discussion: Energy & Environment -- Of the People, By the People:
http://push.pickensplan.com/group/energyparty/forum/topic/show?id=2...

Posted by James Everitt on ENERGY PARTY

Visit ENERGY PARTY at:
http://push.pickensplan.com/groups/group/show?id=2187034%3AGroup%3A...

Permalink Reply by Richard Wickberg on November 29, 2008 at 11:26am

Had a chance to take the train thriugh northern North Dakota and Montaka, While both states were building a sizable amount af wind farms, they had also found oil in these same areas and were busy drilling AND burning off the excess natural gas! (What a waste! ) It was thier easing of wind law restrictions which got the state of N.D, out of operating in red ink and operating in the Black. The oil is now icing on the cake. North Dakota is now a very wealth state. I cannot say as moch for Montana becauseI never spoke to a citizen. But Dakotans love the laws and are paying less for wind energy (the taxes are paid by the leasors, leasees and the power co's at a marginal rate) and the rate payer pays less than before! And they are looking for more land to build more wind farms on! Compare this to other states!