In the Pipeline: 10/4/12

Whoever came up with this idea has a sick, sick sense of humor.  The President by his own account wants electricity prices to skyrocket, has hired people who have predicted and encouraged gasoline prices to go up to 9 dollars a gallon, has led a war on the most affordable and reliable source of domestic energy, favors offshore development of oil and gas in Cuba, Venezuela, and Brazil but not the United States, and is just generally hostile to any form of energy that actually works. White House (10/1/12) reports: “NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2012 as National Energy Action Month. I call upon the citizens of the United States to recognize this month by working together to achieve greater energy security, a more robust economy, and a healthier environment for our children.”

A timeout? The game has been completely stopped since 2008. When are we going to resume play? The Hill (10/2/12) reports: “The Interior Department’s offshore drilling safety chief said more review is needed to gauge whether industry technology is keeping pace as companies push into increasingly risky climates, suggesting a “time-out” could be needed in the future.”

So the bad guys finally get a chance to vote on pricing carbon, and what happens?  They flinch.  If I were advocating for a carbon tax, the vote in the Senate would make me nervous. National Journal (10/2/12) reports: “Amid election-year gridlock, both chambers of Congress have overwhelmingly passed measures exempting U.S. airlines from a European Union plan to assess fees for carbon emissions from airlines flying into or out of E.U. airports. The fees are part of Europe’s broad cap-and-trade program for addressing climate change… President Obama is expected to sign the legislation once differences between the House and Senate bills are worked out, but that won’t be until after the election, saving Obama from having to defy an E.U. effort to combat global warming after he himself pledged action on climate change in his first presidential campaign in 2008.”

Who wants to take the under on 17,000 electric vehicles being sold in 2013?  For that matter, who wants to take the over on the President’s promise of 1 million electric vehicles by 2016? Technology Review (10/2/12) reports: “In August 2009, President Obama announced a $2.4 billion grant program designed to create an electric vehicle battery industry in the United States. Three years on, the factories funded by those grants are sitting idle or operating well below their originally intended capacity.”

Keep in mind, the President thinks Spain is the way to go when it comes to unreliable, expensive (“renewable”) energy. Bloomberg (10/1/12) reports: “After Spain’s rescue of its banks and cash-strapped regions, the 2013 budget reveals a bailout of the power industry to cover 25 billion euros ($32 billion) of debt accumulated by the electricity system.”