Monday, June 16, 2008

Headed For Disaster Because Of The Belief In The Myth Of Man-Caused Global Warming

If anyone thinks gasoline, diesel and jet fuel are expensive, and are harming our economy, take a look at what is going to happen to the cost of electricity and the natural gas we use to heat our homes, cook our food and run much of our industry. Try to imagine how this affects the cost of nearly everything we need to live, from food, to clothing, to shelter. Nothing will escape this inflationary cost escalation. Imagine the jobs lost, as businesses continue the flight to countries with more rational environmental laws. Now, also consider that this impending disaster is greatly due to the myth of man-caused global warming, that burning coal and gasoline and the carbon dioxide this emits is causing dangerous global warming and climate change.

Finally, ask yourself another question; which is worse, the very remote possibility of a slight increase in some arbitrary global temperature, or severe global economic depression?
Peter

Opposition to Coal Will Reduce Electricity Reliability, Harm US Economy
US Department of Energy NETL Report

Summary on SPPI (source)

In an April 2008 white paper entitled, “Natural Gas and Electricity Costs and Impacts on Industry”, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) reported that opposition to new coal-based power plants is leading to a generation capacity shortage in many areas of the country and endangering U.S. energy security. The opposition is also inducing a “dash to gas” and quickly causing a rise in natural gas prices at a time when federal climate change legislation could immediately lead to a doubling of natural gas consumption for power generation. This legislation would increase the country’s dependence on foreign energy sources in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG) causing both natural gas and electricity prices to increase dramatically.

NETL also describes how coal has protected consumers from even higher natural gas prices. Unfortunately, the current opposition to coal would allow natural gas prices to match the percentage increase in the price of oil. Such increases in the price of natural gas could cause trade-exposed sectors of U.S. industry to shut in production, especially against coal-powered competitors like China or regions like the Middle East, where cheap natural gas reserves supply power needs. NETL estimates, by 2016, the absence of 18 GW of currently forecasted new coal-based power plants would mean additional natural gas demand of 1.4 Tcf/year, or almost all of the presently forecasted LNG growth. If electricity growth were higher, as it is in U.S. Energy Information Administration’s latest Annual Energy Outlook (AEO), up to an additional 2.3 Tcf of natural gas for generation would be needed.

In the event of climate change legislation with relatively strict cap and trade provisions, such as S.2191 - the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, an additional 5.4 Tcf/year is required for even more coal-to-gas switching, and even more natural gas generating capacity would be necessary just to meet peak demand. Since this approximate 9 Tcf increase in natural gas consumption would be occurring at high prices, the impact on the economy would be severe. Because both electric rates and heating prices would escalate, no sector would be exempt; although families and energy-intensive industry would certainly bear the heaviest burdens.

See larger image here
For more of this one page summery go here. For full NETL Report go here.
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