Crazies to left of me, Crazies to the right

The Western world may not know this guy but I think now he absolutely lost his mind . He should be arrested and prosecuted for inciting violence but it will never happen. This is the same guy who said few years ago that all the Sikhs in Maharashtra should be rounded up and thrown in the sea.

 And then we wonder why there are Hindu-Muslim riots in India every year?

Why drilling in ANWR only means cheaper oil for the Chinese

In midst of the recent drumbeat to lift restrictions on offshore drilling as well as ANWR, I feel an important point is being missed. If we do lift the restrictions, the parties that will benefit the most, apart from the oil companies will be the Indians and Chinese.

I say this because by even the most optimistic accounts the increased production, however big or small that may be, is not expected to come online for at least another 5 years. Americans facing the increased prices of gas at the pump are already making changes to their lifestyle to adjust to this new world – opting for smaller cars or adopting hybrids, changing their driving habits, using public transport or by simply walking more. This is leading to a reduction in demand for oil in the United States and this reduced demand will stay in place(one can always hope) for the long term as all these changes will become habits for this generation.

On the other hand by all accounts the consumption is not even close to peaking in China and India. Most experts believe these two countries have reached only about half their potential. This only means increased demand for more oil that no amount of increased drilling will be able to meet.Accustomed to subsidised oil the populations of these countries are making no effort to reduce consumption and will continue to demand more oil as more people are able to afford cars fueled by increased economic prosperity.

By the time the increased production from ANWR and offshore drilling comes online, Americans will not benefit from it because it will only be enough to satisfy the increased demand from the Chinese and Indians so we will basically be hearing the same argument from the government of that time that we need to increase production to meet demand, only their would be no more ANWR to drill.

What is needed at this time is not increased production but demand destruction? Americans have always been used to cheaper gasoline and have always consumed it as a limitless resource but the increased prices which is still cheaper then many other parts of the world is finally forcing people to make adjustments. Nobody needs an SUV to drive oneself to work everyday. The market forces are already making alternative forms of energy more viable which had always been an excuse not to act in the past. It is absolutely amazing that having lived through this in the seventies we have not made any efforts to wean ourselves of oil in the past and are willing to go down that road again. For all the talk about American entrepreneurship and innovation this has to be the most shortsighted ideas one has seen emanate from our leadership. For people demanding that drilling be allowed in ANWR are only putting off the inevitable and will only weaken us for the future when we still haven’t found any alternatives for our energy needs and their is no more oil to drill.