Say Anything Blog

A fairly brilliant analysis of unintended consequences and why we don't burn coal to ease our dependence on foreign oil was written today by Rick Justen of Wonder Lake IL:

In 1970, the Coal Mining Health and Safety Act was passed. This gem forbids the burning of high-sulfur coal unless first cleaned by scrubbers, which were then extremely costly. Also in 1970, the Clean Air Act was passed. The immediate result of both laws: Coal production dropped 30 percent.

From 1959 to 1973, a system of quotas existed that restricted the importation of crude oil but encouraged the importation of refined products. The result was that construction of refineries in this country slowed to a crawl.

In 1969, the National Environmental Policy Act was passed. This ridiculous law required that an ''environmental impact'' study be prepared by the Department of Interior and reviewed by Congress before construction of a refinery could even begin. This led to site approval times of three to five years. As a direct result of our lawmakers' insanity, oil companies began to leave for Canada and the Caribbean.

Is it any wonder that this country has become more dependent on foreign sources for our energy requirements? Why is it a mystery to some people that we haven't built any new oil refineries since 1976?

The underlying attitude of the ''blame America first'' crowd and our micro-managing lawmakers can be best illustrated by a quote from Robert Kessler, former head of the federal Food and Drug Administration, when he said: ''Businesses only have the power we let them have.''

Think about that statement. If corporations are going to be constantly vilified and the profit motive constantly belittled, who will invest in our most vital areas of production?

Read the whole thing.

And be sure to thank your local enviro-wacko for all the high-priced gas you've been buying lately.