Is fracking inherently so much more dangerous than foreign oil dependence?
The new world order of energy?
If you attended the recent Deloitte & Touche oil and gas conference in Houston, you were left with one realization, according to Bob Lutz of BMW, Chrysler, Ford, and GM fame: US energy independence is now a potential reality. Thanks to an oil and natural gas boom, something even Lutz didn’t believe in until listening to the experts at the conference, OPEC independence could be achieved “in a period of a few years”.
Similarly, Lutz still believes man-caused global warming is just as much a myth as peak oil has become.
Nevertheless, despite a lack of CO2 or peak oil worries, Lutz still believes electrification is inevitable, and it won’t need to be supported by the government, at least not long term.
So says a recent piece that Lutz wrote for Forbes that also claims that there is still no real and serious US energy policy, even comparing CAFE requirements to fighting obesity by forcing retailers to only manufacture smaller clothes.
Nevertheless, even to someone like Lutz, whom today believes that global warming and peak oil are myths, electrification still makes sense long term and should be supported today. Now, maybe that’s partially due to Lutz’s stake in the Chevy Volt, which Lutz has claimed will lead the plug-in revolution, but I think it still an important point.
Long term, electrification will be cheaper than combustion engines. Thus, that should be a critical piece of any energy policy.
But it’s not there yet, and it will take decades to replace fossil fuel dependence — especially if coal is to also be replaced. That realization should also be a critical piece of any energy policy. Therefore, today, it’s about the best path to take on the long and winding road to electrification, particularly renewable electrification.
Unfortunately, I’d bet that just as Republicans have been obstinate about the potential of batteries, so to will Democrats be obstinate about the potential of fracking, when its obvious both need to part of a quality, effective plan. As a result, instead of putting forth a realistic plan to achieve US energy independence and to electrify the future as expediently, efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, we’ll instead remain stuck in the status quo.
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