$72 billion versus $12 billion during 2002-2008. The article says "2.5X" including corn ethanol as a renewable, but it should not be because the net energy return is so low. Green Car Congress: Study Finds that US Subsidies for Fossil Fuels Are Almost 2.5x Those for Renewables
Fossil fuels? Subsidised? Say it ain't so! The truth is out there. Petroleum is the most expensive way to go. It's about time that fact was included in energy pricing.
Well the good news is (call this 'blowing sunshine up your who ha') that this means there is 6X less subsidies wasted on hydrogen! hwell: .
72 billion over 7 years when our oil bill was nearly 3 trillion? not even a drop in the bucket. besides, posting info on mistakes we made when gas was $1.30 a gallon has been a bit overdone. lets move on from that. lets get stats on what we are doing now. Most of the largest subsidies to fossil fuels were written into the US Tax Code as permanent provisions. By comparison, many subsidies for renewables are time-limited initiatives implemented through energy bills, with expiration dates that limit their usefulness to the renewables industry. hopefully this clause is being worked on
What's the role of government again? Is it to facilitate the transfer of wealth from the slaves to the corporations? Or is it "Of the people, by the people, for the people"? Funny (not) how the political pendulum has swung so far right that good old Abe now sounds like a communist. He was talking about freedom, wasn't he? And equality? Are we there yet?
I don't disagree with the article, but it neglects to account for the Iraq war cost in any way. Imagine what we could have done with the several trillion we've blown on Iraq (both for security, administering the coup de grace to Al Qaeda, and for reducing fossil fuel consumption.)
The oil industry related military costs are a lot bigger than just Iraq. Cost externalities related to pollution are also far from minor.
Ultimately, those so-called externalities are nothing less than Life itself. The logger makes money, the forestry company makes money, the government makes money, and Joe Average gets his house built. Yet somehow, the tree is not a party to the transaction. Clean air, water, and soil are not counted as the essentials of Life they really are - they're merely free, limitless raw materials. This may seem like a vague, esoteric point, but it's really the fatal flaw in our entire economic system.
