Ignorance is Bliss

Senator Hillary Clinton opines:

“I turn off a light and say, ‘Take that, Iran,’ and ‘Take that, Venezuela.’ We should not be sending our money to people who are not going to support our values[.]”

Once again, Sen. Clinton demonstrates that she knows precious little about energy. Switching off a light doesn’t harm Iran or Venezuela in the slightest. It most likely harms the ordinary coal miner in West Virginia or Kentucky. Electricity, Madam Senator, comes from burning coal or natural gas, sometimes from nuclear and just occasionally from a renewable source like wind or solar. Oil-fired power stations are a thing of the past.

So if the good Senator wishes to say “Take that” to an oil-exporting country, she should refuse to step into her limousine or on to a private jet. Saying, “Take that, Iran,” is rather more difficult as her husband, she may not have noticed, issued a series of Executive Orders forbidding virtually all trade with Iran. Now, of course, driving or flying less will hurt Iran indirectly because fungibility means that world demand drives the oil price, not simply U.S. demand. However, because Iran can produce oil relatively cheaply, driving or flying less is more likely to hurt Canada or African states where oil extraction is more expensive.

It seems Sen. Clinton exists in a state of energy bliss.