SOTU and Energy

ENERGY: We can't live without it. Truth be told we dont even really know what "it" is. Physicists must account for it, abiding by the fluid equations of thermodynamics. Economists are quick to capitalize energy, attempting to constrain its flux into a pattern of resource exchange. Energy is the blood of the system, connecting and transfusing mechanics into anthropogenic consumption. Energy is the question on everyone's mind this year, so it warrants some investigation into its current state of affairs.

Energy is maximized as a resource: our most common conception of energy is in its distillate forms-- potential and kinetic production: the driving force of a parochial economy. Hence, concern over how to accumulate, store, and distribute the available sources of energy are on every working person's mind: to drive to the store, to power the cellphone, to watch the Netflix, etc.etc. 

Mr.Obama AKA the President of the United States of America, whom most people agree is not Satan, issued in his 2015 State of the Union speech some of the propositions concerning energy in the year ahead. Three things leap out at me:

1. The claim that the typical family should expect to save 750$ in gas expenditures this 2015 year.

2. The Keystone Pipeline XL proposal aught to be repackaged as a long-term infrastructural plan towards energy independence.

3. Cut methane emissions from natural gas production by 45% from 2012 levels.

My interpretation (for what its worth):

-So, we can expect to see a tax hike due to government subsidization of oil and gas. No surprises here, as we already know that their lobbyists are the main contributors to campaign funding since Citizens United. 

-We will see a bipartisan proposal to push clean energy forward by attaching riders to the back of one of the worst environmental wrecking balls to ever see the floor of congress. I am hopeful that the negotiation is one of major importance, but my optimism is limited. 

-Fracking exploration continues. Oil&Gas are being asked to develop more environmentally efficacious measures for pulling digested dinosaur bones from the earth. Who knows what this entails. We know that Methane is at least a 35x more potent greenhouse gas than Carbon Dioxide, so any attempt to cap this is warranted as generally good.

The question on everyone's mind: is graphene the future for technology in energy production? Tune into my next post for more on this...