Shock Audio-Obama promises to bankrupt coal industry(San Francisco Gate Interview January 17 2008)

As this shock audio (San Francisco Gate Interview January 17 2008) points out, Barack Obama promises to bankrupt the coal industry in coal states such as Virginia , Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Indiana . This will have devastating consequences for their economies. Obama is clearly out of touch with economic reality.

"Let me sort of describe my overall policy.
What I've said is that we would put a cap and trade system in place that is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than anybody else's out there.
I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year.
So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."

PA-Sarah Palin addresses 3,000 supporters at Latrobe Airport

Pennsylvania-Palin promises tax-cut during Scranton visit

Visiting Northeast Pennsylvania for the first time, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin touted the new economic plan running mate John McCain unveiled Tuesday...... The new economic plan would get the nation “through a time of testing” and put “the economy back on track,” she said.
“Under this plan, we’ll help American families keep their homes and save family neighborhoods and bring stability to our housing market,” Mrs. Palin said.The plan seeks to reduce to 10 percent the tax on senior-citizen withdrawals from retirement accounts in 2008 and 2009, reduce to 7.5 percent the capital gains tax in 2009 and 2010 and quintuple deductions of capital losses. It is meant to supplement Mr. McCain’s call last week for a $300 billion government purchase of troubled mortgages.Mrs. Palin’s 29-minute speech was frequently interrupted with applause or chants of “Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!” ........... Full Report:The Times Tribune

Democrat Energy Plan-Hope for the best

This image via Gateway Pundit neatly encapsulates the Democratic Party's energy policy or rather its lack of one. Barack Obama in marked contrast to John McCain has opposed more offshore drilling, a large expansion in the nuclear programme, increased use of coal and support for the electric car.

Obama's energy policy is based mainly on conservation and increased development of renewals.
Correct tyre pressures is a major plank in his energy platform.
That is not a sufficient response to the present crisis. It is a recipe for economic decline.

Huge reserves of untapped oil lie off shore. Under a Democratic Congress and a President Obama they will remain there.
The US and the West in general will remain at the mercy of unstable Middle East regimes under the Democrats and a President Obama.

Meanwhile Communist China ploughs ahead with a policy geared towards securing foreign oil supplies and other natural resources. It has extended its tentacles into Africa and is now increasingly active in South America. It is a new colonial power.

China is a major competitor with the West. US politicians had better wake up before it is too late.
China is rapidly developing it navy, army and air-force. These will be used to protect raw material supplies and if necessary to bully countries which threaten China's interests. Competition for scarce energy resources could trigger a nuclear war.

UN Climate Conference fudge

The United Nations climate conference in Bali, Indonesia ended with a compromise deal to move forward on negotiating a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. No specific targets are included in the "roadmap" document. In reality this is a fudge which commits countries to negotiate. Under the deal it is proposed that a new treaty should be negotiated by 2009 to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

The portents for a new treaty are not good. Watery promises from China and India to tackle CO2 emissions mean little. At the conference China and India emphasized their determination to pursue aggressive economic development policies. Coal will continue to play a major role in power generation in India, China and Russia and the US. Yet all the emphasis is on the US as the villain of the peace. China appears to have overtaken the U.S. as the world's largest total emitter of CO2 because of its huge population, strong economic growth and heavy dependence on coal to generate electricity. China creates 25% of the worlds CO2.

Any new treaty- without binding commitments from China , Russia, India and Japan- is practically worthless.
Such a treaty must address the destruction of the Amazonian Rain forests. The EU must alter its hypocritical stance whereby it imports beef produced on ranches carved out of the rain forests. Perhaps Al Gore will now savage Chinese environmental policy. This is unlikely to happen as Gore is more interested in embarrassing the Bush administration.