The new EPA regulations and this persistent "cheap energy" meme...

[Gore1FL]

1. Actually, energy is ridiculously cheap

It's the act of harnessing it and storing it that is expensive. We aren't good at harnessing it. Storing it is where we have the worst problems.

Coal, wood, natural gas, oil, et al, are awesome batteries. Unfortunately, they share environmental issues with their copper-top brethren. Until we can make the copper-top variety more environmental and close to hydrocarbons in storage capacity nothing is going to change.

Until we solve the storage and the harnessing issues, we are going to rely on dead plants and animals.

We could solve both storage and our collection/conversion abilities with a little research, but we quit doing that sort of thing in 1981 when the United States decided it was better to quit dreaming and not do things.

Bottom line: If we are going to use "cheap energy" as a term, it is "Ronald Reagan that equals the end of cheap energy"