Gov. Palin & Sen. Stevens: Tag Teaming

In what the Anchorage Daily News is calling: "a rare tag-team appearance with Gov. Sarah Palin", Ted Stevens has launched a "multi-pronged" (again in the words of ADN) plan to reduce energy costs in Alaska. Sounds promising, right? Multi-pronged--that probably means something other than betting on oil. I mean multi-pronged has to have multiple solutions. It has to.

Well, apparently, Stevens plan is to: 1. End oil speculation. 2. Open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 3. Give the state a third of off shore oil drilling revenue.

The only mention of some kind of alternative energy is that the revenue from the Arctic Refuge would go to development of alternative energy sources--which is, in some ways, interesting. It is estimated that it would be 300 billion over 30 years. However, as I pointed out earlier this week, that production would not start immediately and wouldn't peak until 2025, so that money would be a long ways off. By 2025 most technologies to harness renewable energy will not be considered "alternative". Europe, California, Japan, and even countries like China and Brazil are already funding and developing renewable energy technology. Sweden plans to be completely off oil by 2020. Portugal plans to produce 60% of its electricity from renewables by 2020. Falling behind now would leave Alaska without a viable economy as the world begins to move from oil and gas to renewable energy. If Alaska wants to develop a sustainable economy, it must start now, not 15 years from now.

Ending oil speculation is starting to look like the new ending the gas tax. It seems that few people actually think that speculation is the leading culprit in skyrocketing prices. As the IEA points out: fast growing demand and finite resources are the driving force behind oil prices.

Number 3 has the same problem as number 2. A good idea 30 years ago, but a bit too late now.

So Ted Stevens and Sarah Palin have created a multi-pronged plan that will: End speculation, which will probably do nothing. Continue the status quo of keep drilling. Begin substantial funding of alternative energy sources after they have become the new status quo 20 years down the line.