U.S. Secretary of Commerce All But Admits That American Economy and Environment is Doomed Under Obama - VIDEO ENHANCED

By Marc J. Rauch Exec. Vice President/Co-Publisher

Originally published Dec. 13, 2009

Speaking at the “Hopenhagen” Climate Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke let the “cat out of the bag” and inadvertently admitted that we can kiss our economy goodbye for at least the next generation.

As the accompanying video will show, Locke talks about the huge potential of energy independence, green clean renewable energy and fuels, and he even says “By focusing on clean energy we’re going to be able to create millions of new, good paying jobs in America.”

Click PLAY to watch video

So you ask, “That all sounds good; why would you write that the Secretary of Commerce has admitted that the U.S. economy is doomed?”

Simple, despite Barak Obama’s pre-election promises, and Locke’s statements to the contrary, the United States is doing virtually nothing to advance energy independence or the use of alternative fuels and technologies. We are as mired in the poisonous gasoline economy as we were when Jimmy Carter ceded control of our economy to OPEC.

Locke claims “President Obama has really done more for green energy than any President in U.S. history, and that’s all in just the last 12 months.” That is bull-crap! And even if the statement could be somehow construed to have some validity by virtue of the lack of efforts of past administrations, it would only show that among all the nothing that has ever been done to make the United States energy independent, Barak Obama has done the most. In other words, he’s done more nothing than anyone else! WOW, that’s some accomplishment, and in just the past 12 months, too,

Locke then goes on to say, “…the President has really focused on helping unleash the incredible ingenuity, inventiveness of the American people; entrepreneurs, inventors, innovators in developing clean energy…he (Obama) wants the United States to be the leader in clean energy because the country that leads in clean energy will lead in terms of the world economy.” We are so far from being leaders in this area that we're practically not even in the race.

If President Obama has been focused on helping unleash the incredible ingenuity, inventiveness of the American people, then the Secret Service better rush him to the hospital for immediate eye surgery. All that Obama has been focused on is ramming a socialist national medical program down our throats. I’m all for improving the health care system and making health care more affordable – for tax paying American citizens – but to think that following a communist agenda will do anything to create millions of new good paying jobs is bass-ackwards and has been proven to be a flop. An improved national health care program should take place after the economy is on the road to recovery, not before it; so we can afford it. We need near term commitments to get us energy independent NOW. We need to start using the greener, cleaner fuels and technologies that we have an abundant supply of NOW: fuels like CNG, propane and alcohol. We need to harness the potential of algae-based fuels NOW, not wait until Exxon or one of the other gasoline pigs patents systems that make algae-based fuels unaffordable. We also must make sure that in “building the so-called “smart grid” that we don’t wind up replacing onerous gasoline companies with even-more onerous electric companies. Remember what happened ten years ago when we let Enron scam California and other states into thinking that they had a better idea. What we got instead was rolling blackouts, higher prices, lost personal investments.

Someone needs to bitch-slap the EPA (figuratively, of course) to get their administrators off the oil payroll and remind them that they already have a job and salary paid for by the American people. CNG, propane and alcohol (ethanol) have been proven to be safe, efficient and economical over decades of use in every country of the world. For them to pretend that more research is needed is bull. It’s just a way to milk the OPEC cow (keeping with a bovine metaphor).

What should we be doing? Here's the plan I proposed in June 2008. Read it. Knock it if you can, and make some good suggestions to improve upon it, if you can. Then call, write, harangue every politician you find.

UPDATE - Dec. 19, 2009: We did hear from a few people who took exception to this story by saying that Obama signed off on very large payments to different States or groups for various alternative fuel programs. However, as we responded to the writers, those funds are merely pork-barrel pay-offs to political cronies or to "re-pay" for support in getting him elected. Not one of the programs that received money has made any improvements in making it easier to convert existing vehicles to CNG or propane use, or to help increase the amount of alcohol fuel (ethanol) being produced in America, or easing restrictions on the use of medium-speed electric vehicles. You wouldn't call the program that have pissed away trillions to AIG or Goldman Sachs successful (except to their management) or having any positive effect on our economy, so you can't rightfully call any programs that give money to research technologies that don't need more research (such as CNG and alcohol) as being steps to help get us become energy independent.