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PASTOR'S REPORT, July 16, 1979
Page 9
"Synfuel" production from shale and coal would demand immense amounts of
water (2 to 3 barrels for every barrel of shale oil) from two of the nation's
most water-starved regions, the Colorado River Basin and the Northern Great
Plains. Making one million barrels of oil from shale a day, equivalent to
an eighth of the current oil imports, would require moving a billion tons
of rock and residue each year, roughly the same amount of material excavated
in the building of the Panama Canal,
The new federal energy super-bodies will also do constant battle with state
env1.ronmental agencies
1
such as those in California ""'hich don't want more
refineries or interstate pipelin8s crossing their "sovereign" soil.
The push for coal will also cost additional billions for thf� rebuilding
and relocation of railroad facilities. Then there will be the push to
develop "coal-slurry" pipelines, which transport a powdered-coal mush.
These systems gulp prodigious amounts of water--again from the driest half
of U\e U.S.
Thus the president's plan could result in a multi-billion dollar fiasco and
only further split a badly divided nation.
Foreign Reaction: Dollar Down, Gold Up
It's worth noting that foreign reaction, especially economic, to the all-out
energy push was generally negative. The dollar declined almost everywhere
and gold zoomed up to $292.87 an ounce, a new all-time high.
Throughout Europe, official reaction to the speech was polite, but news
papers and bankers were openly negative.
"The President really didn't say
much," said a Zurich banker. An Italian broker added: "That speech was
Just a pep talk that solved nothing, and that's why the dollar fell." The
governor of the Bank of Greece said, bluntly:
"What he announced is not
enough."
The Com0unist Chinese paid particular attention to the negative mood of
the address. China's official news agency reported the speech at length-
mentioning Carter's self-critical account of his leadership, and his mention
of A::1e:::-ica's self-doubts about its sense of purpose.
All in all, few believe the nation is in a mood to believe th.at Mr. Carte:c
has the answers or that he could lead the American people in the ''energy
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau