Robert Bryce (Salon/May 4): The gushing truth

[Jack Rabbit]

From Salon.com (subscription or day pass required)
Dated Wednesday May 4

The gushing truth
Contrary to Bush, enviros and Thomas Friedman, America will never be energy independent. The sooner we accept this, the sooner we'll be able to change our gas-guzzling ways.
By Robert Bryce

It would be easy to blame it on Richard Nixon. He started blathering about "energy independence" shortly after the Arab oil producers raised prices and launched an embargo against the U.S. in October of 1973. Within weeks, oil prices quintupled and the American economy went into seizures.

The crusade for energy independence reached another crescendo last week, when the House voted to approve some $8.1 billion in tax breaks for the mightily struggling energy industry. Let's see, during the first quarter of this year, Exxon Mobil's profits jumped 44 percent. Royal Dutch/Shell's profits were up 42 percent while Marathon Oil's profits were up a measly 26 percent. And there's this news: According to John S. Herold Inc., a research-only firm, five of the country's biggest oil and gas companies had a total of some $51.4 billion in cash on hand at the end of 2004.

Read more.

[evlbstrd]

1. Pay up, Suckers!

I just can't wait for the '06 elections!

[Kolesar]

2. great article..eom

[phantom power]

3. Of course we can be energy independent.

We certainly won't get there with anything remotely like Bush's "plan" (and I use that term loosely).