The resulting solution for dealing with this eventual peak was to consume more oil and become more dependent on foreign nations until such time that the U.S. reached terminal velocity and then blame someone else.
Now that we feel the wings beginning to shudder from the speed of decline, Congress has shifted into standard mode; fix the blame on the other guy. When you see someone who is really in trouble start to smile, it’s because they have just thought of someone else to blame.
In a recent Congressional hearing of smiling Congressmen, the oil company executives were hauled in to accept the blame for the cost of petroleum. The Republican’s seem to have found not only a way to blame the oil companies, but also the Democrats. It’s perfect.
In questions during the hearing, Orin Hatch, Republican Senator from Utah, displaying his total ignorance of shale oil production (and darn poor acting skills), set out to prove that the U.S. has a fuel shortage, not because the planet is running out of oil, but because the Democrats won’t let us process the billions of barrels of shale oil that exist in…Utah.
In a real court of law, the defending attorney would have jumped up and screamed, “Leading the witness.” To which the judge would have said, “Sustained!” After which, in a stern authoritative voice would have said, “Mr. Hatch, you are very close to being thrown off of this case.” But Congress doesn’t have a real judge so they let Mr. Hatch lead the witness, in this case, John Hofmeister, President, Shell Oil Company.
Here’s the way the questioning of Mr. Hoffmeister was conducted, (they were discussing oil shale). I’m not making any of this up.
HATCH: It could be recovered at somewhere between $30 and $40 a barrel? (Sure it could and we are expecting even cheaper shipments from the moon).
HOFMEISTER: I think those costs are probably a bit dated now. (Probably outdated by about $200 per barrel).
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