Palin-McCain: Can't Get Energy Facts Right

Amid the absurdities of trying to pawn Sarah "Pit Bull with Lipstick" Palin off as the nation's top energy expert (or here, here, here), the simple reality is that neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin can get their energy facts right.

The latest? According to John McCain, the world's largest oil reserves are in the United States of America. (video)

Huh ...

Double-take ...

Okay, let's revisit reality.

According to the latest data on oil reserves (yes, understanding that many of the specific figures are highly dubious), the United States is not number one, but is #14, with 22.5 billion barrels of reserves and about 4 billion barrels greater than #15, China. #1? Saudia Arabia with 262.7 billion barrels of stated reserves, or more than 10 times the US figure.

Perhaps if we changed the question, rather than total reserves, perhaps he was referring to oil per capita? Oops, by this calculation, the United States falls to the 33rd slot.

We need to be wondering whether this is simply arrogant ignorance in support of drillusion or whether something else is going on.

In any event, getting facts wrong when it comes to energy issues is becoming standard for the Palin-McCain ticket.

There was Sarah's statement (echoed by John)

Let me speak specifically about a credential that I do bring to this table, Charlie, and that's with the energy independence that I've been working on for these years as the governor of this state that produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy, that I worked on as chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, overseeing the oil and gas development in our state to produce more for the United States.

This is quite off the market. US oil production alone? Alaska produces about 14 percentage of US production. But US oil supply? Less than 5 percent of US use.

Furthermore, Palin said "energy," not "oil," so she was actually much further off the mark. According to EIA, Alaska actually produced 2,417.1 trillion BTUs [British Thermal Units] of energy in 2005, the last year for which full state numbers are available. That's equal to just 3.5 percent of the country's domestic energy production.

And according to EIA analyst Paul Hess, that would calculate to only "2.4 percent of the 100,368.6 trillion BTUs the U.S. consumes."

Factcheck continues to highlight that, on at least two recorded occasions, McCain repeated the false figure.

Sigh ...

Sure.

Absolutely.

Burning 25% of world's oil use, with 2% of world's oil reserves, and it is clear that drilling is THE solution to our problems. Idiots or Liars ... or both. You make the choice.

For a perspective ...
We need to return to Republican energy guru Matt Simmons,

"John McCain is energy illiterate," Simmons is saying. "He's just witless about this stuff. As a lifelong Republican, I'm supporting Obama."

Let us review, according to Matt Simmons, "John McCain is

"Energy illiterate ...

"Witless about this stuff

"Doesn't have a clue."

Nuff said?

Evidently not:

... McCain's midsummer move to begin campaigning on a platform of more offshore drilling has only hardened Simmons's position. "What a hypocrite... Here's a man who for at least the past 15 years has strenuously, I mean strenuously, opposed offshore drilling. And now it's 'drill, drill, drill.' And he doesn't have any idea that we don't have any drilling rigs. Or that we don't have any idea of exactly where to drill." (As for McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, Simmons says: "She's a very colorful person, but I don't think there's a scrap of evidence that she knows anything about energy.")

There is one thing that is quite clear about all this:

When it comes to knowledge about US energy challenges and developing meaningful answers to a prosperous, climate-friendly society, John "Truthiness" McCain and Sarah "Energy Expert" Palin are running on empty.

Comments

[optomdoc]

McCain's argument is accurate--if you take into account the shale oil in the Southwest. We have three times the estimated reserves of Saudi Arabia, if you count shale oil. This has been under the radar, but Shell said in 2005 the technology it had developed to get the shale out of the ground (by heating it in place, and by creating an "ice block" to contain runoff) would be commercially viable at $30/barrel.

Wouldn't it be nice if a President said "You know what, that shale oil belongs to all of us--so we, the federal government, will develop it and sell it here in the USA--and while we are at it, we will use the profits to pay down our federal debt, and then create a sovereign wealth fund of our own."

Would you vote for him?

[BrettnCalgary]

There is no proven commercially viable process for converting the kerogen (the petroleum precurser locked in the so called shale oil) into useful petroleum. The process you mention is experimental, and is by no means certain to have a positive eroei (energy returned on energy invested). Even if it did have a small positive eroei it would suffer from the same problems as tar sands, such as scalability, huge environmental costs, and costs that escalate in lockstep with the price of oil (directly related to the low eroei). The size of the reserve is secondary in importance to the scalability of the flows that can be achieved, if a commercial process for shale oil is found, it would certainly only provide a small flow, but for a long, long time.

[butterflyinamber]

The House of Representatives is holding Renewable Energy Tax Incentives hostage. Yesterday Congressman Steny Hoyer blocked Senate bill H.R. 6049 which has a great package for solar energy and other renewable energy technologies from coming for a vote. He wants his bill to be brought up in the Senate and he feels slighted by the Senate.

The bipartisan Senate bill passed with a remarkable 93-2 vote. Bush has said he will sign it. The White House says it will veto the bill Hoyer insists on holding out for. Renewable Energy Tax Incentives have failed nine times this year. Hoyer will cause them to fail again if he, as House Majority Leader, won't allow it to be brought to the House floor for a vote. Sen. Reid says the House has the votes to pass it.

Today, the United Steel Workers said that 116,000 jobs would be lost this year if the Renewable Energy Tax Incentives don't get extended before the end of the year. In addition, the passage of H.R. 6049 would create jobs for 400,000 Americans over the next 8 years.

I called Hoyer's office and asked him to stop blocking the bill. One man should not have that much power over people's livelihoods or over our renewable energy future. Congressman Hoyer's phone number is on his website. The House needs to act before the end of the week or it is all over for many Americans.

[research]

USA NUMBER ONE! USA NUMBER ONE! USA NUMBER ONE! .................

[IForgotMyName]

What factcheck.org and others don't understand is that Sarah Palin_as John McCain pointed out_ understands more about energy than anybody else in the country. So statistics from the energy department don't mean anything because they don't understand energy as well as Sarah.

[pons1595]

1. McCain has repeatedly opposed alternative energy proposals that help both the environment and working Americans" pocketbooks. Source: Vote 157, 6/23/05; Vote 309, 7/29/03; Vote 94, 4/25/02; Vote 213, 7/29/05; Vote 212, 7/29/05; American Wi¦
2. McCain"s economic plan gives Big Oil a $4 billion tax break, while 101 million working families get no relief at all. Source: Tax Policy Center, Preliminary Analysis Of the 2008 Presidential Candidates€„¢ Tax Plan, 6/20/08; Cente¦
3. In taking more than $2 million in campaign contributions from oil companies, McCain has shown his loyalties will remain with Big Oil not with the American public. Source: New York Times, 4/30/08; Factcheck.org, 5/1/08; USA Today, 6/18/08

[BannedFromCommenting]

Yeah, but if you give 4 billion tax breaks to Big Oil, they will be super kind and repay the U.S. by giving us cheaper oil right??? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[SoMG]

Elect my dentist! Drill, baby, Drill!