I have not seen anywhere a blog or an article of any kind which discusses what the final result of the Obama energy policies would be.
For a couple of years now I have been plagued by a vision of economic disaster, complete collapse. I see the streets empty, no cars, no people. I see the malls empty, stores closed. I see gangs preying on the few people who have money for gas, taking by force whatever they have in their cars. In the more urban areas, gangs will come to houses and apartments and take what they want. I see travel being near impossible because airfare will be out of sight, travel by car dangerous and perhaps impossible with the high prices of gas and perhaps the general unavailability of gas. The depression of the 1930s will look good by comparison because then the country still had a Christian world-view while today individualism and moral relativism reign.
I am getting freaked out that under Obama, this vision seems to be coming closer and closer. He was duly elected but he has put many bureaucrats in who now control regulations for just about everything. While Congress sleeps, Obama has taken control. Before the end of his term of office, I think that he may have completed the fundamental change, that he desired. The election of 2012 may be a moot point.
He has said that he wants energy prices to rise and Obama has curtailed drilling of our own oil. Unlike what he says he wants, he is actually forcing the United States to be more dependent on foreign oil. The effects of skyrocketing oil/gas prices are far reaching. First, people will not be able to afford to drive. Getting to work will be a challenge as few live near where they work. In many instances, public transportation is not even an option. So people won't buy cars when they can't afford gas, or maybe even afford the car if they can't get to work. Second, what about those who heat their homes with oil or propane or kerosene? Will they be able to afford to heat their homes? During the winter, will people die because they can't heat their homes? Third, everything we buy is delivered by trucks/trains/planes. If they can't get fuel or if they have to pay 3 or 4 times more than they pay now, the cost of goods will necessarily rise to the point where people won't be able to afford them. Oil products are also essential for the manufacturing of many products: waxes, sealants, distillates; basic costs of many items will rise. Food prices will rise not only from increased delivery costs but from manufacturing and petrochemical feedstock price increases. Fourth, infrastructure will slowly crumble as tar, pitch and asphalt are all oil products. How will roads be repaired or new roads be built?
So now what about electricity? Coal plants providing electricity are being closed and nuclear plants may be the next to go after the earthquake in Japan. Together, coal and nukes provide 65% of our electricity. What will this do to electric rates? Who will be able to afford to pay rates that might be at the least 65% more as we will have 65% less electricity available? This presumes that electricity would still be available to all. I doubt that it will. We are an all electric country from our light bulbs to our refrigeration, to our computers, to our phones, to our small appliances. How long can you live without electricity? Currently electric cars are being pushed as green but who can afford to charge them if rates are astronomical? The government has been forcing us to use fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent because they use less electricity but the difference is not that great and moot if there is no electricity anyway.
Less people will make Obama's policies more workable for the government. Abortion, euthanasia, death panels via refusing to pay for care are essential parts of making Obama's policies sustainable in the long run. The government just can't afford to pay the expensive Social Security and Medicare; I believe they will do everything they can to reduce costs.
These are only two parts of what is going on under Obama but carried to their logical conclusion, America will indeed be fundamentally transformed. The voters had no idea what Obama was really saying when he talked about change. So how do you like this change and where it may end?
