If you like recycling, you loved President Obama’s speech last night on the oil spill. He reused many tired, old, transparently false myths, including the desirability of “energy independence” and the ability of government to create “clean energy jobs.” These myths, combined with those related to global warming and running out of oil without having alternatives, led up to the conclusion that “the time to embrace a clean energy future is now.”
For a discussion of some of these myths, see my “Oil Spill Spillover: The Fallacy of Energy Independence,” “Politicians’ Jobs Nonsense,” and “Earth Day 2010: Protect Human Freedom as We Protect the Environment.”
As to the notion that the country will run out of oil before the market can react, on its face, this is contrary to common sense and economic history. As concluded by Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren, “Energy is like any other commodity in the marketplace, and there is little reason to believe that energy decisions cannot be directed efficiently by market price signals.” (“Energy Myth Five – Price Signals are Insufficient to Induce Efficient Energy Investments,” in Chapter 6 of Energy and American Society: Thirteen Myths, p. 29 (Springer, 2007) [Gated].)
It is hard to believe the White House actually believes the myths it exploits. The evidence for the failure of governments’ alternative energy programs is found not only in the U.S., but also in Europe. Regarding Spain, see Ronald Bailey’s “Green Jobs Destroy Good Jobs,” Reason.com, May 21, 2010. Regarding Germany, see his “The Green Jobs Delusion,” Reason.com, Dec. 17, 2009.
President Obama’s holding up of China as a model is also misplaced. As Jerry Taylor notes relative to nuclear power, China’s government (as well as Russia’s and France’s) simply forces uneconomical decisions. “Nuclear Energy: Risky Business,” Cato.org (originally in Reason, Oct. 22, 2008.)
It is tragic that the U.S. has been letting the government destroy its economy on the altar of myths, from the economy-harming bailouts, to the anti-stimulative stimulus plan, to the health-care-destroying health care plan. The hope is that Congress, facing increasing wrath from the public, will be willing to disappoint the special interests that benefit from alternative energy subsidies and other interventions, and will finally say no to another bad, expensive idea.
