Paul Krugman Quotes
If Europe’s example is any guide, here are the two secrets of coping with expensive oil: own fuel-efficient cars, and don’t drive them too much.
Krugman, Paul. "French Connections." The New York Times, 29 July 2005.
Actually, there were several purposes in the legislation creating the Department of Energy, albeit energy independence was one of the primary ones. However, the Department’s activities have been controlled by Congress and the various administrations. Neither of these two branches of our government has been willing to allow and/or require the Energy Department to do what is necessary to obtain energy independence, Each step in that direction is opposed by powerful interests and so this has been gridlocked.
The notion of a hydrogen transportation economy appeals to most scientists, environmentalists, engineers, and many ordinary citizens. But the vested interests of the oil industry and the American automobile industry were lined up against it and when this statement was made 6 years into the administration of George W. Bush there had been very little done by the Government to facilitate any of the elements Bodman stated were so important. See {585492} for a similar quotation by Bodman, also with no government action.
Energy conservation requires chnge and sacrifice in the short term while fracking has few short term difficulties and requires the vast majority of American to do nothing. The extent of medium and long term damages that fracking will cause is yet unknown and is made even more difficult to know by the practice of the oil drilling companies of keeping the chemicals, amounts, and procedures the use for fracking secret.
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist who is the Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and a columnist for The New York Times. In 2008, Krugman was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to New Trade Theory and New Economic Geography. The Prize Committee cited Krugman's work explaining the patterns of international trade and the geographic distribution of economic activity, by examining the effects of economies of scale and of consumer preferences for diverse goods and services.
