http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204573704577185131406225666.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird
Obama embraced the idea of using natural gas for transportation fuel. Obama says that the United States is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. I like the idea of a cleaner and cheaper fuel; however, the externalities from fracking are too high and already cause life threatening issues out west.
I agree. I think it would great if we weren't dependent on other countries, however where can we safely draw a line that allows us to be independent but not hurt others. There needs to be a lot of money and time spent on creating alternative fuel sources that are applicable to all. Great article.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I feel this is an bad idea because natural gas will not have the same efficiency as oil. The R&D that needs to go into developing this and fully putting this into action is way too much. Nice try Mr. Obama.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Paula, another source would help the United State not rely so heavily on other countries for fuel, but we have to be careful of the externalities that could come from this change. Jon also make a great point when addressing the issue of efficiency. I think its great to pursue other alternatives, but in doing so they need to be heavily researched and the externalities need to be carefully weighed.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Jon. I think that on paper its a great idea, but the costsassociated with using the resource like R&D are too much to make it a feasible solution to our dependency on others for oil.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that people expect us to fix our oil dependency, but when we don't come up with a perfectly substitutable alternative that is more effective than oil itself people are unhappy. Its going to take a lot more than simply switching over everything we own to a new source of energy that just happens to solve all of our problems, its going to take time, and steps like these need to be taken in order to get the ball moving or we are always going to be oil dependent.
ReplyDeleteWe are going to have to find a new source of energy soon anyway and R&D costs are going to be there no matter what the new source is. So why not try and find something that the US has an abundance of? I think if it can happen without a cost much larger than that of other sources we should give it a try.
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