Dateline April 18, 2011: Weekly U.S. Imports of Total PIs America Burning?etroleum Products for 2011 averaged 2,519 thousand barrels per day. At the current Nymex Crude Future Price of $107.12, the U.S. is exporting about $270 million U.S. dollars per day and $98.5 billion U.S. dollars per year.

Would be nice if the budget crunchers on Capitol Hill had these extra dollars to play around with! Other than saving U.S. lives by terminating the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and removing all incentives from oil exploration to production, there is not much the government can do to save dollars. Or is it!

Using the Cost of War Counter (http://costofwar.com/en), the U.S. government is spending about $323 million per day and $118 billion a year on the War in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since this discussion is not about ideology and world politics, the purpose, necessity and long-term prospect of the war will not be debated here. Will leave with this point, since the U.S. government is will to shell out $323 million a day on the war should we not look at the cost of imported oil for about $270 be considered a war too.

The United States and other nations have been myopic and relied primarily on fossil fuels to meet energy needs. Concern about the trade deficit, foreign oil, release of greenhouse gases and air pollution from vehicles and coal-fired plants has increased interest in alternative sources, including solar, wind, and nuclear power as well as waste to energy plants.

Whatever the approach or approaches; government leaders need to shake, rattle and roll already. If not the only notion one could deduce is that with all the rhetoric expressed on the subject, Capitol Hill really does not give a dam. The blame is not solely on President of Obama, Democrats, Republicans, the Senate and the House; but on all of them.

Business and the American people can do little until the government takes a stance, if not on renewables themselves, but the real cost of petroleum. Either way, something must be done.

A recent article by Michael E. Kraft, McClatchy-Tribune, on nuclear power that appeared in the Star-Telegram summed it up quite eloquently (http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/04/16/3004691/us-needs-rigid-safety-standards.html).

“So what should we do? For starters, we need the kind of national dialogue about energy policy that the Obama administration and Congress started in 2010 but which failed to gain traction even in the face of BP's calamitous oil spill.

We should try again to debate the nation's energy future, and this should include a thorough evaluation of all major energy sources as well as a commitment to invest in the most promising new technologies.

President Obama has strongly favored such investments, but most congressional Republicans have opposed them. Bipartisan cooperation is essential to go forward.”

Inclosing, "Government fiddles while America burns – fossil fuels and its future" describes the situation quite well.

Note: I feel it is highly disrespectful and do not advocate burning the U.S. Flag.

To read my other blogs, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/barry-stevens206