Say Anything Blog

That's what Conrad cheerleader Dr. Gerald Groenewald (Director of Energy & Enviromental Research at UND) seems to think:

A commentary in the May 7 Forum by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dwight Grotberg unfairly criticized Sen. Kent Conrad’s, D-N.D., BOLD Energy bill and the senator’s support for pressuring OPEC to increase oil production. This letter was a misguided attempt to distract from the many positive parts of the bill. Sen. Conrad’s bill will benefit farmers and ranchers in North Dakota and help put the United States on a track toward energy independence.

Grotberg seems to be confusing short-term and long-term energy issues. In the short-term, U.S. officials should be doing everything possible to bring down prices. Pressuring OPEC to produce more oil would mean lower worldwide prices, because countries would be competing for a greater pool of oil. Lower prices would bring much needed relief to drivers, farmers, small business owners, and many others in North Dakota.

Sen. Conrad has been dedicated to energy policy for our nation’s long-term and short-term future. I know because I hosted an energy security summit with Sen. Conrad last year, almost 14 months ago, before $3 per gallon gasoline and Grotberg came onto the scene. At the summit we had a genuine, substantive discussion of the issues with a host of national energy experts.

Dr. Groenewald may be a good scientist, but he obviously doesn't know bupkiss about the economic issues surrouding the energy issue. Or, at least, his fawning over Conrad precludes him from talking about them.

For one thing, there is no "short term" solution for high gas prices. Any attempt to immediately lower gas prices is only going to result in more fuel being consumed (that's what people do when something gets cheaper), which in turn will drive up prices again.

There is also the question of why OPEC would choose to cooperate with Conrad's plan when his goal is to make America less dependent on foreign oil. Conrad is aiming having America buy less of OPEC's product. The Senator's expectation of cooperation from the sounds like a pipe dream to me.

The only solutions to the energy problem are long-term solutions, yet even there Conrad has it all wrong. If Conrad wants to make this country less dependent on foreign oil, why not allow for expanded production of domestic oil? Alternative energy sources are nice to talk about and all, but the truth is that we do not have one single alternative that can replace gasoline. All of them are either more expensive produce than gasoline at current prices or cannot be produced in quantities sufficient enough to supply America with the energy it needs.

I'd like to see America move to a cleaner, cheap fuel source as much as the next guy...but the truth of the matter is that such an alternative just doesn't exist right now. Until one comes to light, we need oil. And if Conrad wants us to stop using foreign oil he should support us using our own oil.

Dwight Grotberg, whose response to Conrad's BOLD plan can be seen here, has the right ideas on the energy issue. With Conrad all we're going to get is more of the same: Unfulfillable promises and research on alternatives that may or may not be viable replacements for gasoline in the future.