Short Termist Policy Making has caused the Fuel Crisis
The Government has trapped itself into a no win crisis over fuel and energy policy. Short term policy making over the last decade has resulted in a disastrous failure to develop alternative energy sources despite all the warnings about peak oil.
The result is a continuing and indeed increasing dependency on fossil fuels and now a panic rush to escalate the country's nuclear programme in the very week that new estimates have emerged over the spiralling costs of dealing with the country's existing nuclear waste.
The Prime Minister's announcement of the opening up of new North Sea oil fields is clearly recognised, pardon the pun,as a drop in the ocean compared with rising demand. In addition it re-opens the argument over the ownership of this oil for the SNP to exploit in the independence debate.
The sense of urgency we are now witnessing in the current public debate over fuel and energy shortages was certainly not witnessed in the recent debate in Parliament over the Government's Energy Bill. When Labour backbenchers were pressing to include in this legislation early action to introduce feed in tariffs for altenative energy produced by homes and community organisations the Government refused to co-operate and instead offered yet another consultation over the coming year, delaying the whole process by at least another year and possibly longer. In Germany and other European countries the introduction of feed in tariffs has resulted in a dramatic increase in alternative energy production.
In the meantime the oil price appears to be moving innevitably towards $200 a barrel and the Government by its inaction alienates more of our supporters facing mounting fuel and energy bills.
The result is a continuing and indeed increasing dependency on fossil fuels and now a panic rush to escalate the country's nuclear programme in the very week that new estimates have emerged over the spiralling costs of dealing with the country's existing nuclear waste.
The Prime Minister's announcement of the opening up of new North Sea oil fields is clearly recognised, pardon the pun,as a drop in the ocean compared with rising demand. In addition it re-opens the argument over the ownership of this oil for the SNP to exploit in the independence debate.
The sense of urgency we are now witnessing in the current public debate over fuel and energy shortages was certainly not witnessed in the recent debate in Parliament over the Government's Energy Bill. When Labour backbenchers were pressing to include in this legislation early action to introduce feed in tariffs for altenative energy produced by homes and community organisations the Government refused to co-operate and instead offered yet another consultation over the coming year, delaying the whole process by at least another year and possibly longer. In Germany and other European countries the introduction of feed in tariffs has resulted in a dramatic increase in alternative energy production.
In the meantime the oil price appears to be moving innevitably towards $200 a barrel and the Government by its inaction alienates more of our supporters facing mounting fuel and energy bills.
posted by John at 10:16 PM
7 Comments:
XANAX WITHOUT PRESCRIPTION
OXYCONTIN ONLINE WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION
Didrex without a prescription
BUY CHEAP LORTAB
Ambien Online
Largely agree with this. It's an idea to press for.
Labour are saying gas will increase to £1000 a year, electric will go through the roof, people on low wages and people on lower benefits, who are for example disabled, and who cannot find work even though Labour and the Tories say yes you can, I've failed in four years to even get to an interview.
I cannot afford to pay this money, I and my wife live on £6,500 a year. How the hell does anyone think we can live on this, unless of course we are not expected to.
I have to admit nobody hated the Tories like me, but these days I wish Thatcher was back, her time in power look like a dream these days.
The Greens have come up with a new Green New Deal creating hundreds of thousands of decent jobs with training by developing new sustainable technolgies, home insulation, etc, worth considering.Even in the US, the recession is being slowed by the mass move by industry towards new sustainable technologies, etc,
though, ultimately we are just going tohave to consume less...
Dont ever, ever wish Thatcher back. It was she who started this dreadful nightmare of a ball rolling, for which we are all now paying a most terible price. Yes, things are very bad but no-one should ever lose sight of what that wicked woman did. We now have a legacy of smashed communities, despair, privatisation and all round malaise. Guess what that breeds? Yep, more of the same. Instead of Govt.& Business (boo,hiss)harping on endlessly about meeting our energy needs, here's three ideas. 1. Get the oil companies to pay up with an instant tax;their profits are obscene.2.Stop promoting so much out of town development then we'd be able to engage in more meaningful local lifestyles and not have to drive so much. 3. Allow people in more rural areas to access transport systems which are properly funded so as to lessen the necessity of private transport. How to finance all this? How about a bit of income tax bracket revision so that the wealthy pay a more equitable share but which party leader has got the guts? The very rich might up and leave? Good riddance. They can go and ruin somewhere else and the rest of us can get back on board.
As Darling announces "a change in the tax regime" for oil companies to explore in the more inaccessible smaller fields I wonder now if Big Oil isn't holding the government to ransom.
The theory used to run:- the difficult more expensive to extract oil would come on line as soon as the price of oil covered the costs - which I presume it is now doing. So why is there a need for tax concessions? Is this how Big Oil gets bigger? - by squeezing the government until it caves in with reductions in taxes rather than a windfall tax?
Gordon Brown should watch CNN more - Americans are trying to find alternative sources of oil which is the way we should be going is it not? He is so behind the times and 'ungreen' it's not true.
Also it's obvious Obama is going to be President and despite Gore Vidal's gloomy warning that he could be assasinated this also shows up how Britain is always behing America - they're chucking out the Republicans after the George Bush debacle - we're inviting our conservatives back in..!The troubl eis we have little political/historical education in schools and today's young voter's Dad's didn't lose their jobs under Thatcher..they think teh Tories are trendy but don't know what htey are really voting for - politics does go in fashion sI alwasy think but we need to go a bit deeper than this!
I hope at the PLP meeting Labour MPs can make GB understand the writing on the wall... we don't want two yrs of Major style slow political suicide - things can move much faster these days with new media and also becasue people won't put up with so much - on fuel for instance people like my Mum have to drive to work as there's no adequate transport in her area - only an off peak bus once an hour and seh need so togo at peak time... hence she must drive. I agree we should be more green but peopel need to drive to work when there's no transport infrastructur ein place and jobs aren' tso locally based as they were for people - peopel commute from as far away as AlDershot, Chichester and ILford to work at Heathrow for instnce - on ebloke had his girlfriend adn kids back in Wales and worked ten dyas on teh tro tso he coudl go home fo rfour days when i did shift work...and we are still in power so let's get a new leader adn implemnt John's manifesto before it's too late! Bad typing as kids want thier lunch!
Post a Comment
<< Home