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N.Y. Governor Pushing for Alternate Fuels
Aviran Mordo writes to tell us that the Governor of New York is pushing hard for the widespread availability of both ethanol and biodiesel on the New York State Thruway and 100 more locations around the state. From the article: "Costs and further details of the plan, which Pataki first sketched out in his State of the State address on Wednesday, will not be disclosed until he makes his budget proposal later this month. If the plan is approved by the Legislature, it will give New Yorkers one of the nation's most diverse ranges of fuel choices. Only Minnesota offers an ethanol-rich blend known as E85 at more than 100 stations. Likewise, biodiesel is offered at only a few hundred of the nation's roughly 180,000 stations."
I've read both sides (all 4 sides?) of the debate. I've read about peak oil theories (which I completely don't believe) and I've read published results regarding oil well replenishment that has occured far faster than any theory would have estimated. I don't believe oil only comes from deceased carbon-life, it could be a bacterial byproduct or even in massive quantities farther beneath the earth than we realize. A good friend of mine is a published geologist/geophysicist and even he admits that we don't know what is going on more than 3 miles deep -- the earth is VERY big, remember.
Oil prices are not as expensive as you think. You have to consider MANY different reasons for oil being expensive -- primarily refinery mandates (boutique fuels), excessive regulatory costs and direct taxes, hidden taxes including transportation fees and other costs as well. If oil really becomes "rare" then the price will skyrocket and some inventor will find a way to continue life as we know it without major concern. That is the beauty of the free market -- there is no need to subsidize any process if it isn't needed. When it is needed, prices will drop from direct competition.
As for the war, we aren't fighting any war for oil -- this is another myth. I strongly believe we fought both Iraq wars in order to protect the dollar from devaluation. For decades, the US dollar has been the currency used to purchase oil (at home and abroad). Hussein threatened to use another currency in 1990, and we attacked him. After he lost, he tried it again a decade later, and we attacked him again. I believe this unconstitutional war, as every war after World War II, was performed for two reasons: to prop the dollar as the international trading mechanism and to force countries to use our companies for products (mercantilism).