Then he proposed a Marshall Plan to look at some of these alternative fuels as we move away from our dependence on foreign oil to more domestic production and alternative fuels. Read that again: move away from our dependence on foreign oil to more domestic production and alternative fuels. He went on to say that ten years from now we don't want to be dependent on these dysfunctional countries around the world for our energy use. Concluding this portion of his talk, he said that we are the Saudi Arabia of coal; that with the proper technology and research, there are a lot of opportunities out there.
Well the deal is this: ten years from now, you can be relatively certain that foreign sources of energy will not rely upon cutting edge technology. If they do, we will have officially joined the third world and none of this matters at all. And a Marshall Plan is far, far different from a Manhattan Project that would really provide the foundation for energy independence. A Marshall plan would rebuild our oil production and refining capacity (or possibly produce a cellulosic fuel), while a Manhattan Project would allow us to walk away from fossil fuels and maybe combustion in toto. But let's wait until the next administration for any initiative at all. Based upon the progress we have achieved in our new campaign for a colony on Mars, we don't need this administration's leadership.
Oh, and it seems that the analogy was not chosen casually. Congressman Davis doesn't mince words.
He does embrace offshore drilling and Cuban energy production initiatives. So the Marshall Plan is just up his alley.
Cross posted at VBDems: http://www.vbdems.or...