I keep hearing people who seem intelligent calling for the USA to become more oil and energy independent. I thought that I would shed a little light on this subject and show that it is a myth. I have pointed out in the past that 100% of the popular flat screen TV set are not made here, nor are any cell phones. Why don't we hear any out cry about that? Are we all blind and stupid? How about this?
We have tackled the serious problem that we have with "sugar" and let our government "solve" the problem. Due to the good work of our government, we are now totally independent with respect to sugar. Now we do not have to import any of our sugar. We make all our own sugar right here in the USA. Isn't that great? If we were to do the same for oil, wouldn't that also be just as great? What is your answer? Do you agree? Our farmers have come thru and now we are independent. I can't think of anything that even compares and it shows what we can do if we set our minds to the job.
Now look at the facts. The world price of sugar is $0.138 per pound while the price here in the USA is $0.272 per pound. That means you have to pay 97% more for the sugar that goes into your candy than if you were able to import sugar. Now, let's see how that compares with oil that is now $105 per barrel on the world market. If we had the same laws that we have on sugar, the price of a barrel of oil would cost $207 per barrel here in the USA. Do you feel that we should do the same for oil as we did for sugar? Most of you think that there is a free lunch and I am sorry to be the one who has to throw cold water on your party.
Do your own research and see what you come up with. When ever you hear a "good idea" ask if it is "worth while". Most that sound "good" are not "worth it".
PS---
How about ethenol? I am not only into homebrew, but I am also into the hard stuff. Per my calculations, it takes about 2# of sugar to produce 1# of ethenol. A gallon of ethenol is about 7.5#, so you would need 15# of sugar to make a gallon of ethenol. If we started with imported sugar at $0.138 per pound, our feed stock would cost $2.07 per gallon. That does not sound all that bad does it? If we had to use sugar made here, that costs $0.272 per pound, the cost of a gallon of ethenol would cost $4.08. Are you starting to see the Mickey Mouse attitude of our government? They are clearly stupid and we are even more stupid to keep electing them. Why is it that they never give us the numbers or why we don't demand them. The bottom line is that we are the stupid ones. Look in the mirror.
