During the campaign for the 2008 elections, many issues are tossed around, surveys and polls taken about how candidates and voters think about the issues, issues ranked according to importance, and otherwise ignored by the mainstream media in favor of the political "horse race". But I will contend that the issue of ENERGY is the most important issue of the 2008 elections due to its impact on virtually every other issue presented. Energy, its production, delivery and use, is central to every aspect of our lives. It affects foreign policy and mideast wars, the economy and job creation, the environment and public health, global warming and future, quasi-natural disasters, national security and nuclear proliferation. Energy can also affect education, from the standpoint of adequate physical environs in the classroom to presenting a challenge to students - a real purpose for studying science, math and engineering.
Energy's relationship to the economy is indisputable. The price of oil has been in the news frequently. The price of nearly everything is rising as a direct result of the rise in oil prices. But energy can also have a positive, growth enhancing effect on the economy if our leaders make the choices that would support technologies that save energy as well as massively deploy renewable energy sectors. For example, NPR recently aired a brief story about a renewable energy company that cannot find enough workers to make the installations.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17307587
Production of energy has severe environmental and health consequences. The mining of coal, especially mountain top removal, is obviously environmentally destructive. Not widely known is the practice of locating coal slurry pits close to elementary schools, with widespread health problems for children.
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/166
Typically conservative landowners in the west have felt the pinch from natural gas drilling.
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/184/
The effects of pollution from fossil fuel on health is well documented, and is one of the reasons that health care costs continue to rise.
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/2655_MotorAirPollutionAsthma.pdf
The question becomes why aren't candidates for the presidency able to piece together the crucial role that energy plays in the outcome of most other major issues. Why hasn't any of them picked up the theme of energy as it threads its way through all the other issues? Why haven't they presented a unified theme in their candidacies that recognizes energy as the hub issue to the other myriad issue spokes? In my opinion, the candidate that presented such a unified framework for dealing with the major issue of our time would have instant credibility and resonance with the American voters. As it is, support for any of the candidates remains luke warm, and credibility among voters, who are not their supporters, is non-existent. If candidates are serious about unifyiing the country, energy (especially renewable energy) provides an instant focus, with widespread support among the voting public - regardless of political party or philosophy.
Solve the ENERGY problem and you immediately have a positive impact on every other major issue.
To see where candidates stand on the ENERGY issue...
How Green Is Your Candidate
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Comments: 13
One barrel of crude oil, when refined, produces about 20 gallons of finished motor gasoline, and 7 gallons of diesel, as well as other petroleum products.
Other products made from petroleum include: ink, crayons, bubble gum, dishwashing liquids, deodorant, eyeglasses, records, tires, ammonia, and heart valves.
Imagine if only the United States would reauthorize Industrial Hemp agriculture!
Besides production of Bio-fuels, it could completely replace the entire amount diverted from each barrel towards other products made from petroleum include: ink, crayons, bubble gum, dishwashing liquids, deodorant, eyeglasses, records, tires, ammonia, and heart valves.
Look at the savings we could gain from each imported barrel of crude if only Hemp were grown and processed to replace the crude used for these other uses.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/non-renewable/oil.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrolium
Many other uses could also be supplimented or totally replaced by Hemp such as:
Alkenes (olefins) which can be manufactured into plastics or other compounds
Lubricants (produces light machine oils, motor oils, and greases, adding viscosity stabilizers as required).
Wax, used in the packaging of frozen foods, among others.
Sulfur or Sulfuric acid. These are a useful industrial materials. Sulfuric acid is usually prepared as the acid precursor oleum, a byproduct of sulfur removal from fuels.
Bulk tar.
Asphalt
Petroleum coke, used in speciality carbon products or as solid fuel.
Paraffin wax
Aromatic petrochemicals to be used as precursors in other chemical production.
artificial limbs
bags (garbage bags, shopping bags)
balloons
bandaids
candles
clothing (polyester, nylon)
combs
computers, calculators
crayons
credit cards
dishwashing liquids
disposable diapers
eye glasses, sunglasses
fertilizers
fishing rods
flooring (linoleum, tiles, carpets)
garden hose
hand lotion, cream, petroleum jelly
helmets (bicycle, hockey, etc.)
heart valves
helmets (bicycle, hockey, etc.)
insect repellent
insecticides
life jackets
milk jugs
paint brushes
panty hose
parachutes
patio furniture
pens
perfume
rope (nylon)
safety glass
shampoo
shower curtains, shower doors
soft contact lenses
soft drink bottles, plastic bottles
tape (clear, masking, etc.)
tapes - cassettes, vcr tapes
telephones
tennis rackets
tents
toys, dolls, model cars
tires (synthetic rubber)
toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes
trash bags
tv cabinets
umbrellas
unbreakable dishes
waterproof jackets, boots, pants
The following product list is credited to the American Petroleum Institute's (API) "Petrochemical Products" list, and from Laurie Sachtleben's article "Products from Petroleum" (Chevron World magazine, Winter, 1990). Obviously, some simplification was done, and it is not complete. Feel free to edit this article to add more!
Ammonia
Anesthetics
Antihistamines
Antiseptics
Artificial limbs
Artificial turf
Aspirin
Awnings
Balloons
Ballpoint pens
Bandages
Beach umbrellas
Boats
Cameras
Candles
Car battery cases
Car sound insulation
Carpeting
Cassettes
Caulking
Clothesline
Cold cream
Combs
Cortisone
Crayons
Credit cards
Curtains
Deodorant
Detergents
Dice
Dishwashing liquids
Disposable diapers
Dolls
Dresses
Drinking cups
Dyes
Electric blankets
Electrician's tape
Eyeglasses
False teeth
Fan belts
Faucet washers
Fertilizers
Fishing boots
Fishing lures
Fishing rods
Floor wax
Folding doors
Food preservatives
Garden hose
Glue
Golf bags
Golf balls
Guitar strings
Hair coloring
Hair curlers
Hand lotion
Hearing aids
Heart valves
House paint
Ice buckets
Ice chests
Ice cube trays
Ink
Insect repellent
Insecticides
LP records
Life jackets
Linoleum
Lipstick
Loudspeakers
Luggage
Milk jugs
Model cars
Mops
Motorcycle helmets
Movie film
Nail polish
Oil filters
Paint brushes
Paint rollers
Pajamas
Panty hose
Parachutes
Perfume
Permanent press clothes
Petroleum jelly
Pillows
Plastic wood
Plywood adhesive
Purses
Putty
Refrigerator linings
Roller-skate wheels
Roofing
Roofing shingles
Rubber cement
Rubbing alcohol
Safety glass
Salad bowls
Shampoo
Shaving cream
Shoe polish
Shoes
Shower curtains
Shower doors
Skis
Slacks
Soap dishes
Soft contact lenses
Sports car bodies
Sun glasses
Sweaters
Synthetic rubber
TV cabinets
Telephones
Tennis rackets
Tents
Tires
Toilet seats
Tool racks
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Toys
Transparent tape
Trash bags
Umbrellas
Unbreakable dishes
Upholstery
VCR tapes
Vaporizers
Vitamin capsules
Wading pools
Water pipes
Wire insulation
Yarn
http://www.mainebrook.com/opac/info/kb/Products_Made_From_Petroleum.php
http://www.ranken-energy.com/Products%20from%20Petroleum.htm
http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/sask/oilproducts.html
Americans consume petroleum products at a rate of three-and-a-half gallons of oil and more than
250 cubic feet of natural gas per day each! But, as shown here petroleum is not just used for fuel.
Want to begin down the road to Energy independance? Petition the US Government to reauthorize Industrial Hemp agriculture and allow the market to dictate if it is a viable alternative.
Without choice we will never know what benefits this could bring.
And for all the naysayers out there, please list even ONE downside to allowing an Industrial Hemp market to flourish in the United States.
Good point. Do you have a link that would facilitate this petition?
Welcome, Bruce.
Indeed. Good program on The History Channel this evening. It tied together many of the pieces of the oil issue, including releasing ancient carbon molecules back into the atmosphere.
"What you've witnessed over on the J.K. Sather thread is fear of energy change. Apparently oil companies' price hiking doesn't affect people as much as something else: the unknown."
That, or old fashioned egolatry. I couldn't help thinking during the History Channel program how bizarrely egotisitical these know-it-all's are that they would put their own opinions above the real threats that billions of people face. The fact that drastic changes can occur in relatively short periods of time (a generation) is extremely sobering.
"Solve the ENERGY problem and you immediately have a positive impact on every other major issue."
You put the finger on the core problem that the candidates choose to ignore.
Our part as "the people" is to continue increase awareness until leadership will take serious actions.