Two interesting posts on energy policy today. Iain Murray in The Examiner asks, "What will we do when America's lights go out?"

Tom Evslin's excellent Fractals of Change blog suggests that France (France?!) may have a workable policy idea to use trade and taxation to ensure that countries that adopt carbon sequestration and similar measures to reduce emissions are not at a disadvantage to countries that do not.

An excerpt from Iain's article: "Soon after the widespread blackouts of 2003, the Electric Reliability Organization was etablished, and it recently issued its first report. That report makes for grim reading because the nation’s electric power infrastructure is on the brink of collapse."

And: "The ERO projects that U.S. demand will increase by 141,000 megawatts (MW) over the next 10 years. Supply, however, will increase by only 57,000 MW, and that assumes that all currently proposed new facilities are approved and built."

If the Democrats are serious about responsible environmental policy, they should encourage investment in practical solutions that reduce emissions while increasing our electrical supply in order to enable the continued growth and prosperity of the economy. More use of safe, modern nuclear power plants and innovative sequestration approaches like the Great Plains Synfuels Plant in North Dakota are available, economically viable solutions today.

Here's more on the Great Plains Synfuels Plant:

"At the Great Plains Synfuels Plant, North Dakota, some 13,000 tonnes per day of carbon dioxide gas is captured and 5000 t of this is piped 320 km into Canada for enhanced oil recovery. This Weyburn oilfield sequesters about 85 cubic metres of carbon dioxide per barrel of oil produced, a total of 19 million tonnes over the project's 20 year life. The first phase of its operation has been judged a success."