The secret of Brazil’s energy success

As subtly foreshadowed here yesterday, today’s Wall Street Journal carries Steve Hayward’s “The secret of Brazil’s energy success.” Steve writes:

The Obama administration’s energy policy is in the midst of transition from being stubbornly ideological to being wholly incoherent. That much was clear when President Obama unveiled his Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future this week.
With gasoline prices climbing above $4 a gallon, the administration is talking about tapping our Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a desperate attempt to hold down pump prices. It’s also expanding subsidies and incentives for energy supplies that cost a lot more than oil, and it’s aiming to reduce our dependency on foreign oil by one-third over the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, in a bizarre turn, Mr. Obama recently expressed enthusiasm for aggressive offshore drilling–in Brazil.
At least the president is practicing the green virtue of recycling. His energy address featured all the greatest hits of past presidential declarations of energy independence, including even George W. Bush’s paean to switchgrass ethanol. Yet Mr. Obama’s energy “blueprint” will get no further than all previous presidential schemes for the same reason: It is unserious at its core. . . .

You will want to read it all to discover the deep secret of Brazil’s remarkable energy success.
UPDATE: Over at NRO, Steve footnotes his Journal column.
JOHN adds: Since non-subscribers won’t be able to read the Journal column, here is a key paragraph:

Brazil has gone from importing 77% of its oil from foreign sources in 1980 to importing no oil by 2009. A great success story in conservation and alternative energy? Not really. Total Brazilian oil consumption still more than doubled. The biggest factor is that Brazil increased its domestic oil production over the last two decades by 876% (not a typo). Most of that production has come from offshore exploration.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses