This is a "PERT" Chart. That stands for "Program Evaluation and Review Technique." It was a system of management developed for the U.S. Navy in the late 1950's as we were playing catch-up with Soviet missile technology and developing the Polaris missile. It shows progress steps and critical paths. The little "event" circles are numbered in the tens, because lots of little steps can emerge along the way. the "t" is for "time" and the red lines are the critical path. Let's pretend that the number "10" is labeled "Status Quo" and the number "50" above is labeled "Middle East Go to Hell." My guess is that the numbers in between might be labeled "50% increase in nuclear power" and "75% increase in coal gasification" and "100% increase in refinement capacity" and "100% increase in supply." Is there not someone in Washington or beyond that has one of these puppies with a label that says "U.S. Energy Independence"????
I know, as Barry O likes to tell us, that drilling today is not going to put extra gasoline in our tanks tomorrow nor lower the price of gas. (Surprised he hasn't reprised the "feed a child line" too!) BUT, with that logic...why go to school? If you go back to grad school, you are not going to get a better job tomorrow. Why plant a garden in the spring? If you put all those tomato plants in the kitchen garden, you are not going to have tomato salad tomorrow. For Chrissakes , Barry, everything that's worth anything takes time! What will happen to the price of oil, however, is it will drop precipitously the moment the OPEC banditos realize that the United States is coming out with a serious energy policy. They will quickly try to do to us what they did after the gas lines of the '70's and that is lure us back to sleep with cheap oil. Let's take the medicine this time and send them back to the economic stone age they emerged from with our wealth.
I did say "comprehensive" didn't I? No, drilling is not the only solution. It should be in our bag of tricks though ALONG with lots of nuclear, better design standards, (we are working on a house design that uses 35% less water and takes only 65% of its power from the "grid") solar and wind where feasible. AND we have to look ahead to the consequences of our actions. The rush to corn based ethanol has been a disaster. A dear family friend (and very knowledgeable retired oil industry executive) has eloquently pointed out the law of unintended consequences with this observation in an e-mail titled "Beware of Blown Fuses":
According to the US Bureau of Transit Statistics there were 135,399,945 vehicles in the US classified as cars in 2006, while 99,124,775 were classified as "Other 2 axle, 4 tire vehicles," presumably SUVs and pick-up trucks. There were also approximately 6,686,147 motorcycles.
Harry Reid and the senatorial gasbags avow that: "We are being poisoned by oil and coal." Barry Hussein and the enviro-nuggets deplore nuclear power. What will happen when some 242 million personal electric vehicles are plugged in to recharge every night across four time zones? After every fuse in the national power grid blows, wait to see the taxpayers go nuclear in more ways than one! The cost per kwh will make us look fondly at $ 4 gasoline, but, of course, the local power company will be much more sensitive than the folks at Exxon Mobil, and we'll have a much broader choice of pols to moon.
The following from one of my favorite cortoonists was a bonus in the e-mail:
The candidate that presents a clear, concise and easily understandable plan to the American people for energy independence will be sworn in as our Commander in Chief next January.
Rumble on!