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You are here: Home / Gettin’ wonky with it

Gettin’ wonky with it

by DougJ|  October 16, 20096:54 pm| 50 Comments

This post is in: We Are All Mayans Now

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Someone helped Sara Magna crunch some numbers for her latest star turn at National Review:

We rely on petroleum for much more than just powering our vehicles: It is essential in everything from jet fuel to petrochemicals, plastics to fertilizers, pesticides to pharmaceuticals. Ac­cord­ing to the Energy Information Ad­min­is­tra­tion, our total domestic petroleum consumption last year was 19.5 million barrels per day (bpd). Motor gasoline and diesel fuel accounted for less than 13 million bpd of that. Meanwhile, we produced only 4.95 million bpd of domestic crude. In other words, even if we ran all our vehicles on something else (which won’t happen anytime soon), we would still have to depend on imported oil. And we’ll continue that dependence until we develop our own oil resources to their fullest extent.

[…..]

Alternative sources of energy are part of the answer, but only part. There’s no getting around the fact that we still need to “drill, baby, drill!” And if those in D.C. say otherwise, we need to tell them: “Yes, we can!”

BPD, bitches. Betcha didn’t know what that meant before.

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Next Post: Which one of these idiots asked this? »

Reader Interactions

50Comments

  1. 1.

    Ambergris

    October 16, 2009 at 6:57 pm

    See… and solar power will get you zero bpd.

  2. 2.

    Bubblegum Tate

    October 16, 2009 at 7:00 pm

    Jebus Cripes, she’s stealing “yes we can.” Surely you can use some of that wingnut welfare to pay somebody to come up with a slogan you can call your own*, can’t you, Sarah?

    ** I mean besides The Quitter From Wasilla

  3. 3.

    General Winfield Stuck

    October 16, 2009 at 7:01 pm

    The less use we make of our own reserves, the more we will have to import, which leads to a number of harmful consequences

    Shorter Palin. You better let us goopers drill, or when I’m presnit, a lot of brown peeps is toast.

  4. 4.

    New Yorker

    October 16, 2009 at 7:07 pm

    It’s amazing how appallingly ignorant these people are of the nature of commodities markets. Or maybe it’s just more demagoguery.

  5. 5.

    Bob L

    October 16, 2009 at 7:10 pm

    Sarah Palin at the National Review? Now there is keeping Buckley’s dream of that magazine being the intellectual power house behind of the conservative movement alive.

  6. 6.

    srv

    October 16, 2009 at 7:12 pm

    Is there a reason this wasn’t a WP or NYT editorial?

  7. 7.

    smiley

    October 16, 2009 at 7:14 pm

    Sorry Doug but I want to share these images:
    David Robinson
    I shared an airport shuttle with Robinson in Jacksonville (where he was stationed) back in the day. He was exceptionally polite to the people who recognized who he was but nonetheless were determined to bother him,
    and then there’s this:

    Reminds me of the West Wing episode where Bartlett brings in a ringer (from Duke!) to play against the White House staff.

  8. 8.

    Calouste

    October 16, 2009 at 7:16 pm

    @New Yorker:

    It’s also amazing how ignorant these people are about the strategic importance of a domestic oil supply, and that it has been a policy of the US since WWII to have enough domestic capacity to power the military in a full-scale war, but cover private consumption with imports. If the US runs out of domestic oil, the only thing they have left in case of a war are nukes. Or maybe that’s what Sarah wants.

  9. 9.

    Sir Nose'D

    October 16, 2009 at 7:16 pm

    If only there was some other hydrocarbon we could substitute, something we could produce on a renewable basis. Something as versatile as the class of compounds called alcohols (methanol, ethanol, etc.).

    Sadly, alcohol is still decades away from commercial viability.

    +2

  10. 10.

    Warren Terra

    October 16, 2009 at 7:16 pm

    So, if I understand correctly, we’re supposed to ignore whether it might be possible to replace petroleum in some of these uses (a major switch, such as to batteries or to hydrogen, or it’s less of a switch, such as to biodiesel); we’re supposed to ignore the obvious point that there’s foreign oil from people we don’t like or shouldn’t like (Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela) and foreign oil from people we like just fine (Canada, Mexico), and sources in between (Nigeria, Russia, Iraq); and we’re not really supposed to work on reducing our oil use, or indeed our energy use. Instead, the magnitude of our thirst for foreign oil has only one solution: Drill!

    Now, I skimmed that piece for about as long as I could bear, and I didn’t see the slightest hint there that she has even the slightest idea how much more oil we could get domestically if we were indeed to “drill, baby, drill”. I’m guessing it’s not 15 million barrels per day, and especially not any time soon. So basically her whole argument is “we use a fnckload more oil than we produce, so we’d better produce more”. Starbursts!

  11. 11.

    pinson

    October 16, 2009 at 7:17 pm

    Something tells me that passing along Chevron Inc. press releases via America’s Shittiest Website wasn’t part of Sarah and Todd’s original game plan for cashing in on her notoriety. I guess the offers for daytime network talk show gigs aren’t rolling in.

  12. 12.

    dr. bloor

    October 16, 2009 at 7:19 pm

    BPD, bitches. Betcha didn’t know what that meant before.

    Borderline Personality Disorder, of course. Why do you ask?

  13. 13.

    Demo Woman

    October 16, 2009 at 7:21 pm

    @smiley: The pictures were great. Who really cares about Sarah?

  14. 14.

    Joseppe

    October 16, 2009 at 7:23 pm

    And if those in D.C. say otherwise, we need to tell them: “Yes, we can!”

    “We” in this case meaning every three people sharing a brain.

  15. 15.

    Epicurus

    October 16, 2009 at 7:27 pm

    “…even if we ran all our vehicles on something else (which won’t happen anytime soon), we would still have to depend on imported oil.”

    Cause, y’know, we would never develop alternative energy resources for anything BUT gasoline-powered vehicles.

    Her logic is flawless.

  16. 16.

    kay

    October 16, 2009 at 7:28 pm

    @pinson:

    Nope. This isn’t going to do it.

    The powerful backers have moved on anyway.

    Liz Cheney is the new “red state rock star”. Purportedly. Allegedly. According to Bill Kristol.

    Can’t you feel the grass roots excitement building?

  17. 17.

    robertdsc

    October 16, 2009 at 7:29 pm

    I wonder why the NR used her formerly official state portrait. Weird.

  18. 18.

    Reason60

    October 16, 2009 at 7:30 pm

    Aside from any lingering attitude I have towards Palin (I am assuming some GOP wonk wrote the article for her signoff) there are some valid points:
    1. We use a lot of petroleum;
    2. Most of it is non-vehicles (as in building heating and cooling);
    3. Easy substitutes are still a ways off;

    So far, so agreed upon-
    Where we part ways is the conclusion- Drill baby Drill.

    There just isn’t any way to wean ourselves off petroleum as long as there is a steady fix being injected into our arm. Every time the government takes steps to artificially lower the price of petroleum, it stunts the growing alternative energy market in favor of the old petroleum market that is killing us.
    The sooner we begin the methadone the sooner we get clean and sober.

  19. 19.

    General Winfield Stuck

    October 16, 2009 at 7:31 pm

    @kay:

    Can’t you feel the grass roots excitement building?

    Like little Torturebursts bouncing round the room

  20. 20.

    Calouste

    October 16, 2009 at 7:34 pm

    @Sir Nose’D:

    Sadly, alcohol is still decades away from commercial viability.

    Only if you assume that the US is decades behind Brazil, where 94% of the cars sold are flex fuel and ethanol outsells gasoline.

  21. 21.

    John O

    October 16, 2009 at 7:42 pm

    @Bubblegum Tate:

    That’s Quitta to you, dude.

  22. 22.

    TenguPhule

    October 16, 2009 at 7:44 pm

    And we’ll continue that dependence until we develop our own oil resources to their fullest extent.

    Obviously a fundraiser to buy Palin a dictionary with “nonrenewable” and “resources” is now desperately needed.

  23. 23.

    Bootlegger

    October 16, 2009 at 7:49 pm

    She also neglects to mention that there are alternatives for those other uses too. There are better ways to make fertilizer and plastics (biodegradable at that), for example.

    And the point about burning the last of our reserves is dead on. How fucking stoopid would it be to drill out and use the last of our oil reserves. Also.

  24. 24.

    Montysano

    October 16, 2009 at 7:51 pm

    @Reason60:

    The sooner we begin the methadone the sooner we get clean and sober.

    I agree, but let’s be clear: the modern world is what it is because of cheap oil Period. I.e, the world will soon be very different. Good different or bad different? Who knows? The fact that no politician on the national stage dares to say this for fear of being Drudged and MSM-ed to death is one of the many things that scares the shit out of me.

  25. 25.

    Bubblegum Tate

    October 16, 2009 at 7:51 pm

    @smiley:

    Wow, D-Rob. My favorite basketball player and the reason I’m a Spurs fan.

  26. 26.

    Martin

    October 16, 2009 at 7:54 pm

    Gee, you’d never think we’ve been making synthetic oil since WWII. Even as the Official Motor Oil of NASCAR, it hasn’t penetrated the skulls over at TNR.

  27. 27.

    Bubblegum Tate

    October 16, 2009 at 7:55 pm

    @Warren Terra:

    So basically her whole argument is “we use a fnckload more oil than we produce, so we’d better produce more”.

    The worst part is that wingnuts will recite this mantra like it’s the ace trump. “QED, bitches!”

  28. 28.

    arguingwithsignposts

    October 16, 2009 at 7:56 pm

    One thing nobody mentions is that we could turn around pretty quickly if we wanted to. Look at WWII. We turned around our entire economy to produce tanks, aircraft carriers, etc. in a matter of months.

    We’re not decades behind because we can’t turn around. We’re behind because the monied interests want us to be.

  29. 29.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 16, 2009 at 7:56 pm

    Tell Sara to meet me at Humboldt Bay and I will patiently explain to her that we don’t need to drill for more oil … please, tell her to come on out, I’ll be nice, I promise. Fucking idiot.

  30. 30.

    sidereal

    October 16, 2009 at 8:09 pm

    I don’t know where it originated, but ‘Sarah Magna’ is a gem. It’s a nice shorthand for when she’s in Half-Baked Policy Mode, vs ‘Snowmobile Spice’ which is more appropriate for Starburst Mode.

  31. 31.

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    October 16, 2009 at 8:11 pm

    And if those in D.C. say otherwise, we need to tell them: “Yes, we can!”

    OK, here’s a shovel. Have at it.

    (Yes, I know the PalinDrones are dumb enough to think We = Giant Oil Corporation, but still.)

  32. 32.

    tigrismus

    October 16, 2009 at 8:14 pm

    In other words, even if we ran all our vehicles on something else (which won’t happen anytime soon), we would still have to depend on imported oil. And we’ll continue that dependence until we develop our own oil resources to their fullest extent.

    In other words if we ran our vehicles, heated our homes, and generated electricity using something other than oil we might not need the entire output of Saudi Arabia and then some anymore, but we’d still need to import under 2 million bpd so why bother? Jesus.

  33. 33.

    Jamaal

    October 16, 2009 at 9:02 pm

    Nah, ever since KRS-One met Scott La Rock, BDP has officially stood for Boogie Down Productions. AND NOTHING ELSE!

  34. 34.

    PeakVT

    October 16, 2009 at 9:26 pm

    Bailin’ Palin should inspect this map before writing crap like that again.

  35. 35.

    gnomedad

    October 16, 2009 at 9:43 pm

    @PeakVT:

    Bailin’ Palin should inspect this map before writing crap like that again.

    Fail, baby, fail!

  36. 36.

    Ruckus

    October 16, 2009 at 9:54 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:
    I was going to go on a long screed about manufacturing but my question boils down to:
    What are we changing from and to? Making wind generators? Solar panels? Biofuel production? More fuel efficient cars? Large scale solar farms? Hopefully all of the above because none of them will solve even most of the problems with using too much carbon based fuels.

  37. 37.

    Anne Laurie

    October 16, 2009 at 9:56 pm

    Shorter Palin. You better let us goopers drill, or when I’m presnit, a lot of brown peeps is toast.

    In NationalReviewWorld, dead brown peeps is a feature, not a bug. But if the multinationals who are renting Palin’s negotiable affections this week get to replace all those pristine Alaskan water views with derricks and churned mud, where will the next NR cruise sail for Bloody Bill Kristol to prospect for a new conservatard sockpuppet?

  38. 38.

    CalD

    October 16, 2009 at 10:40 pm

    “In other words, even if we ran all our vehicles on something else (which won’t happen anytime soon), we would still have to depend on imported oil. And we’ll continue that dependence until we develop our own oil resources to their fullest extent.”

    OK, so let’s see, 19.5M BPD less… something less than 13M, let’s call it 12.9M for motor fuel (gasoline and diesel) leaves:

    19.5M – 12.9M = 6.6M.

    Domestic production = 4.95M

    6.6 – 4.95 = 1.65M

    Annualized domestic heating oil consumption runs to around 1.5M BPD I believe, most of which could be easily replaced by natural gas of which we have huge reserves, not to mention conservation/solar etc. So at that point, assuming we could find something else to run our cars and trucks on — and I’m not saying we could, but if we could — we’d actually be looking pretty good. The remaining shortfall probably works out to about what we import from the Virgin Islands. I’m cool with that. They haven’t started any wars lately that I recall.

  39. 39.

    superluminar

    October 16, 2009 at 11:08 pm

    the oil droplets are like starbursts in my mouth, but it takes longer to remove the taste…Also….And the Helicopters did not laugh…Too.

  40. 40.

    some guy

    October 16, 2009 at 11:14 pm

    Funny she doesn’t mention these other two EIA reports:

    http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/otheranalysis/ongr.html

    http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/anwr/results.html

    Summary: drilling in ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf would yield, at most, an additional 1-2 million barrels a day… but not until around 2030… resulting in a reduction of crude oil prices by a whopping $2 per barrel.

  41. 41.

    Cerberus

    October 17, 2009 at 12:00 am

    On heating especially, we can turn to the scandanavians who have been using sewage lines to transfer heat energy for hot water (the pipes run next to each other, same way of heat transfer in the body, actual sewage does not touch the body).

    Air conditioning is a little more difficult, but we can certainly improve upon the energy source at least to be a renewable form of energy such as solar whose peak times just so happen to coincide with when air conditioning would be needed.

    Hell, a lot of energy costs as well as water savings probably could be saved with a mass movement to upgrade toilets and lightbulbs country-wide, but I imagine the Wolverine Brigade would be screaming double socialism on that.

    But yeah, it\s always dismaying to see all the disused factories crying out for things to manufacture, people needing jobs and things like new mass transport, solar panels by the ton, windmills, etc… just not being built.

    We need a Green Energy CCC in the worst way.

  42. 42.

    Mentis Fugit

    October 17, 2009 at 12:24 am

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    We’re not decades behind because we can’t turn around. We’re behind because the monied interests want us to beto stay that way.

    Fixed for motivation. They don’t do it because they don’t like you; they do it because they don’t give a shit about you.

  43. 43.

    Redshift

    October 17, 2009 at 12:56 am

    I don’t know where it originated, but ‘Sarah Magna’ is a gem.

    I presume it’s based on the appalling “Ronaldus Magnus” for Reagan-as-Roman-Emperor that appeared on the GOP website this week. But it’s still awesome.

  44. 44.

    Josh E.

    October 17, 2009 at 1:58 am

    I am surprised they used that ridiculous headshot. She looks crazy.

  45. 45.

    Jon Marcus

    October 17, 2009 at 2:36 am

    I might be wrong about this, but I think she’s mixing apples and oranges. Crude oil is what the refineries take as input. Gasoline and diesel fuels are outputs. One barrel in does not necessarily equal one barrel out? (Lots of variables: impurities in the input, additives, not sure how much of the crude is burned off in the cracking processes, etc.) I am *not* an expert in this by any means…but neither is Sarah Palin. I’d love to hear from someone who actually knows this stuff.

  46. 46.

    tootiredoftheright

    October 17, 2009 at 5:35 am

    “resulting in a reduction of crude oil prices by a whopping $2 per barrel.
    ”

    Which turns out to be mean 2 cents less per gallon of oil.

  47. 47.

    chopper

    October 17, 2009 at 5:30 pm

    so her argument is, what if we can snap our fingers and make every vehicle on the road oil-free (ignoring all the plastics and lubrication issues) and then drill a bit more and presto change-o, we’re free from imported oil!

    wow, its so, like, brilliant. also.

    and hey, if we could snap our fingers and get rid of terrorism altogether we could bring all our troops home from the middle east. yes we can!

  48. 48.

    chopper

    October 17, 2009 at 5:32 pm

    @Jon Marcus:

    in general, a gallon of light sweet crude (which is best for refining into gasoline) nets about a half a gallon of gasoline. that’s after regular distillation followed by extra steps to squeeze out the rest.

  49. 49.

    Jay Schiavone

    October 17, 2009 at 7:49 pm

    US passed peak in the seventies and increased drilling failed to yield more oil. In fact, as predicted by the peak model, there was less. But things have probably changed in thirty years.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. Brightest minds on the right hope for a brilliant idea from Sarah : Galt Gone Wild says:
    October 17, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    […] Here’s Salam’s wet dream ’splaining her brilliant programme: There’s no getting around the fact that we still need to “drill, baby, drill!” […]

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