ozzy43

An Energy Policy That Makes Sense, Revisited

A note on the "theory" of abiotic petroleum origin from Wikipedia:

The most important counter arguments to the abiotic theory involve various biomarkers which have been found in all samples of all the oil and gas accumulations found to date. The prevailing view among geologists and petroleum engineers is that this evidence "provides irrefutable proof that 99.99999% of all the oil and gas accumulations found up to now in the planet earth have a biologic origin." In this process, oil is generated from kerogen by pyrolysis. While, Thomas Gold hypothesized that bacteria exist deep within the Earth's crust, and are the source of the biomarkers, these bacteria have not been found, the natural abiogenic formation of high-carbon hydrocarbons has not been demonstrated, and evidence for the biotic origin of petroleum is abundant.

This can only loosely be classified as a theory (speculation would be a better term, or untested hypothesis), and it is one without any evidence whatsoever, whereas the standard view of petroleum biogenesis - which the vast majority of geologists hold - offers innumerable proofs. To hold the two up as peers is disingenuous to put it politely. It is yet another exercise in fantasy, intended to allow the holder of such a view avoid dealing with the unpleasant reality of peak oil.

An Energy Policy That Makes Sense, Revisited

While your diagnosis is relatively accurate, the course of treatment you prescribe is an exercise in fantasy, relying as it does on government to 'do the right thing'. In doing so, you mistake the nature of the beast. It has been government which - by offloading such externalities as air pollution from businesses onto taxpayers, and by implementing legislative, regulatory and judicial and even military protections (you didn't really think we were in Iraq to promote democracy did you???) in favor of the oil companies - is largely responsible for the current sorry state of affairs.

Government is NOT an agent of the people - it is NOT "an institution of social service" or even "an amiable, though often inefficient, organization for achieving social ends" (Rothbard) - it is, by and large, as Albert Jay Nock put it, "a distributor of economic advantage, an arbiter of exploitation", or even more damning, in Rothbard's view "it is the systematization of the predatory process over a given territory. ...The State provides a legal, orderly, systematic channel for the predation of private property; it renders certain, secure, and relatively 'peaceful' the lifeline of the parasitic caste in society."

This is the entity to which you wish to turn for solutions? It will never be what you think it is, and therefore will never behave as you wish and hope for it to behave. Because this would be precisely contrary to its very raison d'etre. You are assuming a grizzly bear is a cute stuffed teddy bear. That's a lethal mistake.

Therefore, your proposal is at its core, fatally flawed.