Cycloptichorn wrote:If you can't figure out for yourself how much gov't money was spent on creating the infrastructure to support the oil and electricity industries, there's not much anyone can do for ya, Okie. Seriously. Think for a second before you write stuff.
Cycloptichorn
Well, let's examine this question, just as Cyclo has stated it. How much government money was spent creating the infrastructure that supports the oil and electricity industries?? Coal and petroleum are extracted by private corporations, operating on private land or property leased by them for that purpose. They are transported to the point of use principally in pipelines or by rail, both systems constructed and operated by private funds. A small fraction of coal & petroleum products are transported by truck on government-built highways, so there, at least there is an element og government support. All of the petroleum refining complex in the country was developed by the private sector. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created by the government in the late 1970s to provide a storage facility for emergency reserves - it continues to operate today and is an example of government operated infrastructure, however, it plays no role in the routine, day-to-day operation of petroleum refining & distribution in the country.
The electrical power grid was constructed by private companies and is operated by them. The only substantial electrical power generator with any meaningful government funding is the Tennessee Valey Authority, the rest are all pricate sector corporations that use private capital. In addition most of our hydroelectrical power infrastructure was indeed constructed by the government - it amounts to about 6.5% of our total electrical power generation.The technology for power generation using coal, natural gas and other conventional sources was all developed by private sector corporations using their own capital. A principal exception is nuclear power technology, the foundations of which were largely developed by the government. However the designs for the 100 reactor plants in the country were all performed by Westinghouse, General Electric and (a few) by Combustion Engineering corporations, all using private capital. The plants were all built by utility corporations, again using private capital. The Federal government for many years controlled and operated the uranium enrichment industry that fabricated the fuel for the reactors. However, that infrastructure is now in private hands.
Government regulation strongly effects this and other industries, however, that has virtually nothing to do with the creation or operation of ther infrastructure that supports them. It is often argued that our military establishment and foreign policy are themselves dedicated to the protection of various industries. However that idea would necessarily apply equally to all economic activity, and it is a bit of a stretch to connect that with "the infrastructure that supports it".
The inescapable conclusion here is that the government is and has been an important, but minor player in the creation and operation of the infrastructure that supports the oil and electricity industries. The only exceptions are the TVA, hydroelectric dams, the basic research behind nuclear power, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
However the 30 year old wind farms around here all involve 500KW machines. The MW machines came much later.
