Be careful what you wish for ...

I don't know who originated it, but there is an old saying that goes something like this: "Be careful what you ask for; you might get it." I hope the Dems in this country understand what that means.

Wasn't it the Dems who looked forward to a rise in oil prices? The "logic" was that such rises would cut down on the use of oil, which would also cut down on CO2 emissions, which in turn would help in the fight against what they believe to be anthropogenic global warming. Well, the oil prices have indeed skyrocketed, oil usage has gone down somewhat, and in some places I hadn't even considered ... like the Middle-East, for instance.

Now why would there be a decrease in the use of oil in the oil-rich Middle-East? Since the prices have risen to such a high level, they've discovered that they can make much more money selling the oil to the world than by using it themselves ... for power generation. According to Der Spiegel, a megawatt-hour of oil generated electricity costs almost $80. Natural gas halves that figure: about $42 per megawatt-hour. And now the biggie: coal-fired plants deliver the same amount of electricity for a mere $17.50 or so.

That being said, guess who is now going gangbusters building coal-fired electricity-generating plants? While you're at it, guess what the CO2 emissions are from coal-fired plants. Lastly, the Kyoto Protocol (may it rest in peace) considers the Middle East as "developing," which exempts them from fretting about their CO2 emissions. Isn't that just ducky?

The Dems got their wish, as oil prices have gone through the roof, and CO2 emissions seem to be headed for all-time highs all over the planet as the direct result of those high prices.

You know, there's another old saying about good intentions...

John Babush

Big Rock