ENERGY INDEPENDENCE By HJS

I could only watch part of the show to which he refers. The presidency will in large part be handed to the person who can say that he is committed to first, oil independence from the Middle East and Venezuela, and second, while we are putting every American oil field on line that we can (why should the Chinese be pumping in the Gulf of Mexico when we cannot?), our industries will be hard at work building vehicles that do not run on petroleum. The next president should be and must be one who prioritizes thusly.

The only way to beat the Middle East at its own game is to throw off the petroleum shackles that bind our hands and blind us to the real issues. There is more than the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan between the Middle East and us; you could call it the second war of Independence. There are no second place winners! Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, George W. Bush and many others have already reserved their seats in the international energy scrap heap. There are a couple of seats still available for either another American president or some Middle Eastern and South American big-mouths. Remember, this time it is winner-take-all, and no ties. Refusing to drill in ANWR is one more point conceded to the Middle East, a point we cannot afford. With Obama we had no chance at all. With McCain we had one chance (please do not blow ANWR). Without drilling here, and the price of energy going up here, and the Democrats gleefully playing their children's games here, we will soon be re-playing one of our golden oldies, "OVER THERE"! No, Democrats, surrender is not an option!

HJS

The US must get real about energy independence

Israel is embracing the electric car on a wide scale

Agassi and his investors are convinced that the cost of running such a car will be significantly less than a model using gasoline, which in Jerusalem is about $1.65 per liter, or $6.25 per gallon. “With $100 a barrel oil, we’ve crossed a historic threshold where electricity and batteries provide a cheaper alternative for consumers,”

Agassi’s company, Project Better Place of Palo Alto, California, will provide the lithium-ion batteries, which will be able to go about 200 kilometers, or 125 miles, per charge, and the infrastructure necessary to keep the cars going - whether plug-in posts on city streets or service stations along highways, where in a structure like a car wash, exhausted batteries will be removed and fresh ones inserted.

Hydrogen Driven Cars

Honda of Japan is developing a revolutionary fuel-cell engine that produces no pollution and, in effect, runs on nothing more than hydrogen produced from water.

Fuel cells don’t run literally on water, but on hydrogen, which is forced through membranes inside the fuel-cell stack, producing an electric current that powers the car. You can make hydrogen from water, but that also requires electricity - and it so happens Yakushima has abundant quantities of that, too.

The reason lies 170 metres (yards) down a steep tunnel, which takes you deep under the mountains, on a funicular railway.

That is where the local electricity company has built turbines to harness the enormous hydro-electric potential on Yakushima, a mountainous area with lots of rain, - and it has done that so successfully that it produces far more electricity than the island’s 15,000 inhabitants can use.
Surplus electricity cannot be stored, so the company has joined forces with Kagoshima University and Honda, to make hydrogen for the fuel-cell FCX.

Both solutions require electricity. While there are other mountainous areas with lots of rain where Japan’s solution can be exploited, maybe atomic energy is the way to go.
Atomic Energy

There are 173 nuclear reactors producing power in Europe (excluding Russia), with four under construction and others planned.Nuclear Power in China

# Mainland China has eleven nuclear power reactors in commercial operation, six under construction, and several more about to start construction.# Additional reactors are planned, including some of the world’s most advanced, to give a sixfold increase in nuclear capacity to at least 50 GWe by 2020 and then a further three to fourfold increase to 120-160 GWe by 2030.
There are currently 53 operating nuclear power plants in Japan.

US Nuclear Reactors

As of October 31, 2005, there are 104 commercial nuclear generating units in the United States. Of these 104 reactors, 69 are categorized a pressurized water reactors (PWRs) totaling 65,100 net megawatts (electric) and 35 units are boiling water reactors (BWR) totaling 32,300 net megawatts (electric).

Although the United States has the most nuclear capacity of any nation, no new commercial reactor has come on line since May 1996. The current Administration has been supportive of nuclear expansion, emphasizing its importance in maintaining a diverse energy supply. As of April 1, 2005, however, no U.S. nuclear company has yet applied for a new construction permit.

What is needed is a Manhattan project for energy independence within twenty years. It will also take twenty years to change cars to rely on electric batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.

Acheiving energy independence would address the first three items noted; the economy, the war and fuel costs.

McCain would do himself and the American people a lot of good by launching such a bold project. It would generate excitement in his camp, be a stimulus to the economy and be the talk of the town.

Now that’s change

.Ted Belman