Ecofanaticism: SolyndraGate was no isolated case of corrupt government misspending. The U.S. Navy was just forced to buy 450,000 gallons of biofuels from an Obama-connected firm at an outrageous $16 per gallon.
The massive Obama stimulus was supposed to generate millions of jobs, but the $535 million loan guarantee it gave to solar panel maker Solyndra on the eve of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy illustrated the fundamental incompetence of Obama’s neo-Keynesian economic ideology.
Now we find the Navy partnering with the Agriculture Department to purchase hundreds of thousands of gallons of alternative biofuel in place of standard JP-5 fuel for Navy aircraft — the biggest federal purchase of biofuel ever.
It’s part of the White House’s “we can’t wait for Congress” strategy as the 2012 election year looms. But JP-5 typically costs less than $4 a gallon. If a family on a budget started filling up with $16-a-gallon gas, it might want to adopt the motto, “we can’t wait to go broke.”
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Doesn’t Obama realize what a great political ad this will make against him?
Nothing wrong with ”green” within reason, but to take it to the point of absurdity is so pig-headed that I can already see the ad.
Even ”greenies” have a sense of economy VS false economy.
It costs more because it’s a new and developing technology. Solyndra produces advanced aviation-grade fuel from algae. The process could lead to the large-scale production of a renewable biofuel that wouldn’t compete with food production. $16 per gallon biofuel is an investment in that industry. Anyone questioning the logic might want to consider how the cost of developing any prototype military aircraft or weapon system normally compares with the unit production cost of that aircraft or weapon system, once the design has been perfected and adopted. The 4:1 cost ratio for an experimental biofuel vs. a conventional fossil fuel might seem a bit less shocking.
In addition to that, it’s worth noting that the taxpaying public would benefit far more from an eventually economical biofuel production process than from a new military aircraft or weapons system, which they’re expected to routinely spend billions on.
To put the 450,000 gallons into perspective, the U.S. Navy requires and purchases 670 million gallons of fuel per year. No doubt U.S. fossil fuel producers and importers would like to keep that market all for themselves.
Ah yes, greg the propgandist raises his weasel like head to defend the left again.
Our military is having to cut costs too. This makes their budget dry up that much faster much to the delight of greg and other leftists.
Bio-fuels are a waste of taxpayer dollars at a time we cannot afford it. If it cannot survive without taxpayer subsidy (which it can’t) it needs to be left to the private sector. Not to mention there is a significant question as to whether or not it reduces pollution at all.
As usual you throw out the evil “boogeyman” of “big business” in a deliberate and misleading attempt to explain why such “technology” has been a failure. Anything but the truth, eh greg? Greg and his ilk will stop at nothing to undermine America and turn it socialist. Further handicapping our military is just one of the ways they are working to do so.
Greg, news flash Solyndra cost taxpayers over $500,000,000 and we got squat. 0-bama has blown over $800,000,000,000 and we got squat. It’s time to put down your Kool Aid and admit your boy has failed America. Your defending him makes you sound like such an idiot. Then again if you believe yourself then you are an idiot.
I have a vested and a huge financial interest in energy production in both countries. There are no subsidies or any tax credits of any value. Its sink or swim. Subsidizing algal jet fuel is definitely another Titanic disaster. The Keystone expansion would cause a stability in oil prices and could fill the strategic reserves in a matter of days. Energy security has been sacrificed for the green energy god. Corruption at its finest.
Refining jet fuel from crude oil is easily done and economically justifiable.
I misstated the name of the biofuel company up in post #2. The first sentence should refer to Solazyme, not to Solyndra. Solazyme has been contracted to fill 50% of the Navy’s 450,000 gallon biofuel order. The other 50% is to be provided by Dynamic Fuels. Tyson Foods owns a 1/2 interest in Dynamic Fuels.
Solazyme has already provided 150,000 of biofuel to the Navy. The production process isn’t theoretical.
@oil guy from alberta, #5:
The proposed Keystone pipeline is a separate issue, involving an entirely different set of considerations. Essentially the pipeline would facilitate the transport of Canadian oil to the U.S. Gulf coast for sale on the international market. More U.S. produced-oil is presently being exported than consumed in the United States.
It has been suggested that construction of the pipeline could actually raise the price of gasoline in the United States, by diverting crude that is presently refined in the American Midwest for the domestic market to export-oriented facilities on the Gulf coast.
Notice how greg deliberately avoids how much the deal smells? He tries to divert attention from the cronyism on display with a subject unrelated to the orginal post. He knows exactly what he is doing and he is obviously okay with corruption as long as it’s committed by dems.
Greg, are you suggesting that more oil(supply and demand) would cause oil prices to climb? Put down the bong, please.
I talk to personnel from Trans Canada Pipelines and I have heard first hand that the XL portion has a huge ability in restoring national oil reserves in a time of crisis. Crude in the salt domes of Texas are an integral part of crisis oil production and refining, in times of threatened national security.
That site you present is a lefty site that has been debunked so many times that its become irrelevant.
Oil guy, every source in greg’s link with the exception of one, is a leftist group who doesn’t care about reality. They are chasing the dream of socialism.
@oil guy from alberta, #9:
Nope. I’m suggesting that a pipeline transporting crude to Gulf coast refineries will facilitate sale on the international market. This would divert a large portion of the supply away from North American inland refineries, which serve the North American market. We might expect such a diminished supply to result in higher domestic gasoline prices, since North American consumers would now be competing directly in a seller’s market with consumers in China, India, etc. Domestic petroleum resources would also be depleted faster, because the entire world would be drawing on them. From the North American consumer’s perspective, these seem like legitimate concerns.
@Hard Right, #10:
Arguments contrary to the those put forward by the right are not all necessarily leftist or socialist. Sometimes they’re just opposing views.
DOE BIOMASS PROGRAM AND ALGAE RESEARCHERS NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED!
Solydra story is opening a huge can of worms at the DOE LOAN GURANTEE LOAN PROGRAM. Its not just about the Solar loan guarantee program. Look at all the millions in fees collected by the DOE LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM with projects 20% completed. Also, an audit needs to be done on DOE GRANTS to individuals from the DOE that are now working in private industry. Very incestuous! There needs to be an audit on each individual loan program for amount funded and results!
The US taxpayer has spent over $2.5 billion dollars over the last 50 years on algae research. To date, nothing has been commercialized by any algae researcher.
The REAL question is: Does the DOE BIOMASS PROGRAM really want the US off of foreign oil or do they want to continue funding more grants for algae research to keep algae researchers employed at universities for another 50 years?
In business, you are not given 50 years to research anything. The problem is in the Congressional Mandate that says the DOE can only use taxpayer monies on algae research, NOT algae production in the US. So far, research has not got the US off of foreign oil for the last 50 years!
A Concerned Taxpayer