[Cruisingdad]

I have not researched the whole ethanol bit to be very well versed to comment, but on the whole, it seems a bit short sided too. Still, I am suprised that you do not support it more than you do. Like your proposals, it is simply a method to help relieve some of the foreign oil dependence - with no possibility to ever remove it. We simply cannot grow that much corn!

The gist of your threads here has been to let the markets do what they are going to do. Am I wrong? Let capitalism and the markets dictate what is or is not done. As such, your notion of supporting drilling here when it is not profitable now makes no sense. Why lose money on every drop of oil. Why? Is it because sometime in the future oil will not be so cheap and it will become profitable again? As such, can that same argument not be made for renewable sources of energy?

Also of note is what I said earlier: that the arabs would NEVER allow us to get to a point where we could remove ourselves from their dependence. Oil is America's Crack. We are addicted. THey will artificially drop the price of their oil until we lose profitability in seeking other solutions. They understand our system and your version of capitalism better than anyone. Their entire surviuval depends on our shortsitedness.

As it takes years and years to get solar/wind up and running (and almost as many years to get oil up and running in drilling new sites), someone is going to have to look ahead and make a long term investment that does not make any sense right now. That deoes NOT have to be government owned (but hey... basically everything else is now!!). It could be government influenced though through tax breaks and research incentives. But NOW is the time to do it, not when oil is sitting around $140/barrell again. Then it is too late.

- CD

PS There was an interesting comment made on Tech Ticker (if you know what that is). They said, "Capitalism has been saved by communism." Certainly that did no sit well with you, but the reality of that statement is eye-opening.