I watched most of the coverage of Obama at the House Republican retreat yesterday, too. But this wasn't the "stunning admission" I noticed.
OBAMA: So what I want to do with West Virginia to figure out how we can seize that future. But to do that, that means there's going to have to be some transition. We can't operate the coal industry in the United States as if we're still in the 1920s or the 1930s or the 1950s. We've got to be thinking, what does that industry look like in the next hundred years?
And it's going to be different. And that means there's going to be some transition, and that's where I think a well-thought-through policy of incentivizing the new while, you know, recognizing that there's going to be a transition process and we're not just suddenly putting the old out of business right away. That has to be something that both Republicans and Democrats should be able to embrace.
What's stunning Kate? He's away from his teleprompter, facing a crowd that wasn't hand picked by his staff.
Tripped over his shoelaces and blurted out the truth a few times. Happens whenever he has to talk without a script. Some Obamahandler no doubt has a sore forehead from whacking it and saying "D'OH!!!" every couple minutes.
Obama is already yesterday's man. Cap and Trade is dead and coal is viable. AGW is a farce and everyone now knows it.
We cannot get rid of this anachronistic Gaia massaging idiot fast enough.
Need will dictate what gets done and we do need coal because people need to live. When it comes to life and death, people do what they need to do.
Speaking of cap and trade. Spending imaginary money , not yet collected .
At least he's softening his stance and is coming a little closer to reality. But the sheer arrogance of policy makers (like Obama) to suggest that we must look at how these industries are to be run 100 years from now is stunning. Everyday people go to work in these 'dirty' industries looking for better and more efficient ways of burning coal or extracting natural gas from the ground. Who the hell is he to wag his finger!?
Watching the Obama administration is like watching a train wreck happening.
Barry seems to think the laws of economics don't apply to him, that all he has to do is make a speech, or drop by for a visit a la Harvard Law Review or just say he will make it happen differently and all will be well.
He is to narcissism what going postal is to violence.
Too bad for the US economy. He will do a staggering amount of damage in a very few short years.
All talk; no walk.
STG: don't be fooled.
The chances any new coal or nuke plants will be permitted between now and 2012 is precisely nil. (that's the question a REAL jouno would ask him)
He did the same volte face on school vouchers and dozens of other issues before the election. Now post-brown he is just beginning his run to the centre in advance of nov 2010 and he will be to the right of GWB in about 18 months (at least in rhetoric)
What becomes clearer is he doesnt really know what he wants to do. The words are nice again...but 4 weeks ago they werent so nice.
Not a good thing. Reality may be constraining him, and now he is slowly becomong institutionally constrained. The conomy will pop up, a good thing, and so will the political fortunes. November 2010 is still a long way away and lots can happen.
he'll say what ever is convenient at the time, tomorrow for another crowd he'll have a different story on the same points, just to please the people so's his EGO will be massaged
"we're not just suddenly putting the old out of business right away"
That is very finessed. A different word pattern of selling cap and trade.
For financiers and other players to make money on cap and trade, the cap has to be set not so high as to close something down, but to make it more expensive, yet still viable in the market. The project of cap and trade is not emissions reductions, but to make producers pay more for them, which of course is passed on to the consumer.
People who say Obama and his crew want to shut down coal produced electricity, frankly, should reexamine their view.
His words are above are a not a retreat but a reiteration of cap and trade theory.
Mighty gracious of him, what with this slow death thing for the coal industry. Is this more like a death row temporary reprive, or more like the BTK killers modus operandi?
The left is intent on crippling capitalism in the US and the gatekeeping and tollgating of energy resources represents their best hope. No doubt "O" has "friends" who can "help" companies squeeze out a few extra years of coal mining before the axe finally falls.
One amusing similarity in "O" sales patter harks back to Mugabe who would in foreign interviews constantly berate the opposition in general for "not being constructive" and "not bringing good faith" to the process. The fact that his thugs were constantly on the prowl to arrest, torture, or murder anyone whose activities offended the "great leader" and number one kleptomaniac, did not seem to engage him.
What an ignorant putz. The technology is already here for clean coal-powered electricity.
"The scrubbers today remove all the airborne pollutants making it an ideal energy. It is easy to produce, all you have to do is mine it or dig it, crush it then ship on rail cars."
For details see here
there are commercials on TV now where they say there are people who can't afford rent and electricty or rent or food (anti-poverty or something), and Ive wondered if the self righteous d-bags who are probably watching these commercials saying that something should be done for these people ever come to the conclusion that making energy more expensive (as cap and trade or carbon taxes will do without reducing emissions in the least)will make things even worse for them
And... the Cons are taking the bait.
www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100130/canada_emissions_100130/20100130?hub=TopStoriesV2
Idiots. What's the difference between them and Lieberals now? Time to go Galt.
Obama is, of course, absolutely right. Yup. It's just a shame that there's nothing that can incentivizes a business to transition over the course of a hundred years. Like, if there was some form of hidden hand that could guide the industry based on its consumers' needs and willingness to pay.
But, as there's not, I guess we're stuck with Barack and his Crystal Ball telling us what it will be like in the year 2110. Well, maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe he'll use Tarot or Astrology.
“America is at that awkward stage. It’s too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.”
........ those are the opening lines of “101 Things To Do ‘Til The Revolution” by Claire Wolfe.
Well, I guess there has to be a transition.
From coal to coal??
The current occupant of the White House, is using the well-known communist trick, if it looks bad nationalizing, bankrupt them, then save them by takeover.
If you follow Hugo’s track, that is how it’s done. You may say that Hugo is “just slightly ahead of our time”. Remember, the White House occupant has 3 more years to (change) screw the US.
It will not happen, no matter what anyone says. Obama's statement is just so much hot air, spoken to fool the environmentalist morons into giving him more money and votes.
Why?
50% of our energy comes from coal.
Let that number sink in a moment.
Eliminating coal power means unavoidable political death. Ergo, it will not happen.
The EPA is taking away operating permits from coal mines back east. There is a real battle going on there right now.
"we're not just suddenly putting the old out of business right away" yeh yeh - that is what the anti smoker crowd said about the first incursion into property rights - all public buildings must have 'non smoking' areas for children and people with allergies - look where that went....different day, different name - if it looks like a skunk and smells like a skunk, chances are it is a skunk.
It will not matter how many businesses are bankrupt in achieving radical agendas because fanatics do not care about people; they care about control, their agenda is power over other humans. The left wing crack pots were just testing the water with the anti smoking freak outs; coal, oil, cattle..once they claim the economy by making it impossible to make a living; all citizens will be toast.
Dear Leader doubles down.
obama is not interested in making America prosperous. he wants to shut down every free enterprise market in the country and make it guvmnt controlled re: the EPA, banks, car companies. the largest union in the USA is guvmnt union.
shake your collective heads people and rise up
his wife clearly stated that the first time she was proud of HER contry was when obamarama was elected president. dispicable. I am always proud of my country damn it!!
This is the first time that I have seen Obama in a question and answer session and I have to admit that I was impressed. This guy is a lot smarter than I thought and he knows what's going on.
I've also been to West Virginia a lot. WV is a beautiful place - full of mountains and scenery. However, it is one of the poorest states. It has a population of about 1.8M and it is declining because there is no future for kids unless they want to work in the coal industry. The infrastructure, education levels, health care are really bad. WV produces high grade coal (and metallurgical coal for the steel industry). They have 4 problems: 1) they are running out of easily accessible coal and have to start going for the deep stuff which is more expensive technologically and from a miner safety point of view (they have about 4% of US coal reserves but have been mining for about 250 years), 2) when the US and the US states started mandating strict pollution controls in the late 70's, 80's, and 90's, coal plants went to scrubbers and other technologies to meet the standards for ash, sulfur, mercury, etc. which impacted WV because these technologies allowed coal based electric companies to go to cheap coal (full of impurity stuff) and still meet the latest pollution standards., 3) places like Montana can actually strip mine high quality coal much much cheaper than WV and dig out a vein, and 4) the US steel industry has declined a lot.
New clean coal technologies have nothing to do with the scrubbers and all that expensive stuff that is retrofitted on these 30 year old technology coal plants. The new technologies and processes allow you to burn coal much more efficiently (less coal is needed for the same energy output) and cleanly. There is now one technology out there that actually does not produce CO2 - it produces H2 (google it) - and if you believe that the future is hydrogen cell technologies for transportation then this is a good thing.
Obama's comments on WV are correct and the WV guy knows it - everyone in WV knows it. WV has failed year in and year out to diversify their economy. Obama just called them out on it - to depend solely on one industry for that long and allow one industry to control the state is just stupid. WV should have had a plan 10 years ago when their coal production started to decline.
Lorenzo, interesting about the EPA permits you mention. Guy I know operates the steering head of a horizontal drilling rig. Did some holes in New York looking for gas to frack. Something like five test holes, took forever to get done because state inspectors camped out on the site and made a nuisance of themselves.
The drilling company decided they will take no more drilling contracts in New York state. Ever. Regulations made it impossible to do the holes in a reasonable manner.
This is gas, the clean hope of the future. I can only imagine what the coal guys are up against.
Ccon ... WV should have had a plan 50 years ago.
They don't and it is not any of Obama's or any other socialist busibodies business.
That's the point ... if WV as a STATE cannot pull their own heads from their own arses .. then it is their own business.
NOT some crap for brains losers in DC.
Will we have made official contact with the Vulcans by 2110? Or the Kingons? Romulans? Ferenggi? the Gaould?
edit:
Klingons,
Add the Raith...?
He plans to oversee a 3.8 trillion dollar deficit for 2010 and he thinks he can tell someone how they should run their business for the next 100 years?
If Obama ran a business in China they would put him under the jail,
or worse.