aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Drum on Bush on Oil

Kevin Drum says Bush’s comments on oil conservation “show off practically everything that’s wrong with his governing instincts:”

First, he talks about conservation but asks only that people “pitch in.” He is unwilling to propose any serious government action to reduce oil use.

Second, he talks about environmental restrictions disliked by the energy industry. On this score, unlike the first, he is happy to propose government action.

Third, at the end of a discussion directed solely at oil use, he suggests that nuclear power is part of the answer, seemingly oblivious to the fact that nuclear power is a source of electricity, an industry that uses virtually no oil. Increased use of nuclear power would have no effect on oil consumption at all.