US Department of Energy is Now Referring To Fossil Fuels as 'Freedom Gas' (arstechnica.com) 345
Call it a rebranding of "energy dominance." From a report: In a press release published on Tuesday, two Department of Energy officials used the terms "freedom gas" and "molecules of US freedom" to replace your average, everyday term "natural gas." The press release was fairly standard, announcing the expansion of a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal at the Freeport facility on Quintana Island, Texas. It would have gone unnoticed had an E&E News reporter not noted the unique metonymy "molecules of US freedom." DOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg is quoted as saying, "With the US in another year of record-setting natural gas production, I am pleased that the Department of Energy is doing what it can to promote an efficient regulatory system that allows for molecules of US freedom to be exported to the world." Also in the press release, US Under Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes refers to natural gas as "freedom gas" in his quote: "Increasing export capacity from the Freeport LNG project is critical to spreading freedom gas throughout the world by giving America's allies a diverse and affordable source of clean energy."
Freedom Post (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Freedom Post (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Freedom Post (Score:4, Funny)
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Re: Freedom Post (Score:2)
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"Freedom" gas is definitely not equivalent to undocumented workers, in that
1) Gas isn't a person, and can't be offended
2) That is the corniest name ever. "Natural Gas" is already the PC term for naturally occuring "Methane". Fossil Gas is a bit more like "Illegal Alien"
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It isn't PC, you have to use a different word because no it not simply methane, it is a natural mix of gasses including ethane, methane, propane, butane, etc.
If it was an intentional mix it would be at a premium price. Instead, it is the cheap stuff that is mostly suitable for heating and cooking. But you don't put it in portable pressure vessels, because the different gasses behave differently and the mix isn't consistent enough for that.
That's why gas that comes to a house through a pipeline for cooking i
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But you don't put it in portable pressure vessels, because the different gasses behave differently and the mix isn't consistent enough for that.
You do. And it is called LPG. In Thailand a huge deal of public transport and trucks are powered by it.
Re: Freedom Post (Score:2)
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How about "freedom workers" and "Undocumented gas"?
Re: Freedom Post (Score:2)
Reminds me of the Freedom Fries (Score:5, Informative)
...but far more appropriate (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Reminds me of the Freedom Fries (Score:5, Insightful)
It was done to disparage France's opposition to the war. Turned out France was right. Climb aboard the Irony Train, dear Stubborn Elephant.
The Elephant's not Stubborn (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re: Reminds me of the Freedom Fries (Score:2)
They're not even French anyway. Belgian, actually.
Re:Reminds me of the Freedom Fries (Score:5, Insightful)
Sadly, this was not treated as a joke at the time. A lot of people thought it was but it didn't take long to figure out that some politicians were dead serious about this, as absurd as it sounds. The reason was that France didn't want to join in with the invasion of Iraq, which also led to a steep rise in stupid jokes about the French being cowards (despite being our first ally in the revolutionary war). Now 15 years later I think most people realize that the invasion of Iraq was a major mistake and the French were right.
Now today, some of us are probably laughing and thinking that Freedom Gas and Molecules of Freedom are a joke. Except that I think some of these people are serious. Stupid, insane, but serious. If anyone still thinks the current administration is full of sane people having deep thoughts about serious issues, this should hopefully enlighten them.
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Either they think we're naive dimwits or they are naive dimwits themselves. I'm not entirely certain yet. Could well be both, though.
The true data point (Score:5, Insightful)
What remains to be discovered is if there is any lower threshold of demonstrable partisan play/stupidity where Trump and the Republicans that defend him can be embarrassed enough to distance themselves from it.
From the looks of it we haven't reached that yet.
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What remains to be discovered is if there is any lower threshold of demonstrable partisan play/stupidity where Trump and the Republicans that defend him can be embarrassed enough to distance themselves from it.
From the looks of it we haven't reached that yet.
When you're a star, you can do anything you want, you can just walk right up and grab them by the Freedom Gas.
No, there is no bar low enough (Score:5, Insightful)
These people are paid very, very well to sell us out. They have zero decency or shame.
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In comparison, "freedom gas" is an embarrassing non-sequitur.
Re: The true data point (Score:2)
Yeah we all know that Sting song. Woah I'm a worker, I'm a documented worker, I'm an Englishman in New Yoooooork.
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Benefits to the undocumented that are unavailable to citizens.
Woah, you've got some Santorum stuck in your teeth, home slice.
I'm sure your red state doesn't have any citizens on medicaid. Any!
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When you start thinking the people promoting health care for all don't know that they're talking about doctors you may have reached the pinnacle of partisan stupidity.
I'll bet you can see all the way to Beckybeckystanistan from up there! Mission Accomplished!
Laughable (Score:2)
"So did you know this is about saving Europeans from making a terrible mistake by building a pipeline to import Russian gas and becoming dependent on them?"
So by making them laugh at us we'll save them from the Russians? Can you do a bit more to connect the dots for me here because I don't see how any sensible person will take the renaming of natural gas as freedom gas seriously? I mean shit, freedom fries didn't demonize the French to anyone who hadn't already decided they were horrible for not backing us
Would've been funny on March 32nd (Score:2)
If it was humor, it failed for lack of being April 1st.
If it was anything else, it failed for being just plain stupid.
So much for energy independence (Score:5, Insightful)
If we want to be energy independent, why are shipping our resources to other countries?
Oh right, right. I keep forgetting. It has nothing to do with being self-sufficient for multiple decades to come. It's about making a few extra bucks in the next few years before everything runs out.
Freedom wants to be free (Score:4, Funny)
If we want to be energy independent, why are shipping our resources to other countries?
As opposed to imprisoning it within your borders? That would hardly be "freedom gas" now then would it?
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If we want to be energy independent, why are shipping our resources to other countries?
We're not. We're shipping freedom to other countries!
Re:So much for energy independence (Score:5, Funny)
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If we want to be energy independent, why are shipping our resources to other countries?
If we weren't dependent on Saudi Arabia we wouldn't be selling weapons and providing intelligence support to a country that's busy torturing and decapitating women and homosexuals while it commits a genocide in Yemen.
Since we're not energy independent ... oh, wait.
To be completely fair... (Score:2)
To be completely fair, trying to get Europeans to buy our gas is as much about national security as being energy independent is. We don't want to be dependent on Russian gas and we don't want our allies to be either. An ally whose energy supply is beholden to an adversarial nation isn't going to be too keen on risking crippling their economy when called upon to help with a situation.
Making a few extra bucks in the process certainly doesn't hurt of course but you're kidding yourself if you think that's the o
Re: Don't you know? (Score:3)
LMFAO.
It's understandable (Score:3, Interesting)
It's burns cleaner than coal and gets us off of foreign oil. But timing is odd. My guess it's a strike against Chinese coal imports.
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Re:It's understandable (Score:4, Insightful)
That's not possible (Score:2)
Nope, not only is the US a net exporter of coal but when we do import it, it pretty much doesn't come from China https://www.americangeoscience... [americangeosciences.org]
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No, it's an attempt to market natural gas from the US to Europe in the place of natural gas from Russia.
Oh, now I get it... (Score:3)
Its why the US gov. seems to always want to take it away from others.
Copying Edward Bernays "Freedom Torches" trick. (Score:5, Informative)
Long ago when it came to cigarettes, it was primarily men that smoked. It was seen as a male vice not female, and women smoking in public was taboo. The great nephew of Sigmund Freud, Edward Bernays began his movement to make women smoke by using social engineering at feminist groups to spread the idea to light up a cigarette in public in their feminist protests as a women's right thing, and Bernays contacted newspapers and had them call the cigarettes "Freedom Torches", so it read "Women light freedom torches at protest". Hehe
He went on to have cigarette manufacturers make special brands aimed at women and had the companies set aside money for Hollywood to glamorize it. But it all began when Edward Bernays changed cultural norms and got women to start smoking by calling cigarettes "Freedom Torches".
No telling how many thousands dead Edward Bernays had a part in.
Holy fuck (Score:3)
Sounds like... (Score:3)
the Germans in WW2.
Let's export our "Freedom Gas" to the world!
It's sounds more threatening than anything else...
April Fools? (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm checking the calendar and it's definitely not April 1st.
Seriously... It's one thing for some restaurant in Florida to rename French Fries to Freedom Fries. It's another thing entirely when the bloody gov't does it.
We get it... The US is now run by a cadre of man-children. It's really not necessary to prove it over and over and over again.
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You remember the "Freedom Fries" thing was the gov't,and not some restaurant in Florida, right?
Re: April Fools? (Score:5, Informative)
It was the cafeteria for the US House of Representatives, and done at the request of the Speaker (or Majority leader, I forget). These are people with real power, and numerous other ways they could get their message out.
Wow. (Score:2, Insightful)
And Americans get angry when the rest of the world calls them stupid. Actually, I think they might have a point; after this it'll be hard to call them anything but retarded.
PS: If you don't like being called a retard, get rid of these clownshoes ASAP.
Just pathetic attempts at propaganda (Score:5, Insightful)
And it will work. (Score:2)
If natural gas can be made synonymous with freedom, then it's green alternatives can be made to equate to slavery. It can even be proven depending on the details. The lithium-ion batteries that soak power from your solar cells and wind turbines are derived from foreign lithium mines that employ slavery. American natural gas (freedom gas) is mined by well paid American workers, and its infrastructure has no need for lithium-ion (enslavement ion) batteries.
It's silly, but it works out. All the energy producer
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It's silly, but it works out. All the energy producers have to do is assert it in their propaganda.
"Freedom fries" was laughable in 2003 and that hasn't changed. Bad propaganda is bad propaganda.
As for the wage argument, simple answer...pay people a living wage wherever they are. China, the US, the moon...doesn't matter. "Wage slavery" is not geography-dependent. If an employer can get away with paying low or no wages they'll usually do it. Yay capitalism.
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Look, they can do math. They'll go for the lowest price energy option that meets their legal regulations and offers sufficient delivery guarantees. Full stop.
"I've got yer Freedom Gas..." (Score:4, Insightful)
".... right here!"
farts loudly
With all this talk about freedom (Score:2)
will my natural gas bill be reduced?
And Freedom Gas is a slightly better name than Liquefied Dinosaur Farts.
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will my natural gas bill be reduced?
Of course not. This is about selling US natural gas to Europe. So gas will cost more in the US due to selling off the current glut, and if this is effective gas will cost more in Europe because it costs more to ship it than for Russia to pump it through a pipeline.
April Fools was *last* month (Score:4, Insightful)
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Didn't they do freedom fries one time, after the French did something to trigger them? They have form.
/Oblg. "Hemp for Victory" (Score:2)
Does that mean that we'll soon seen the return of this propoganda?
USDA 1942: Hemp For Victory" [youtube.com]
Re: /Oblg. "Hemp for Victory" (Score:2)
Meanwhile in Alberta the market has cratered (Score:2)
Just note that even in Canada they can't use it, because the local markets are rapidly shifting to cheaper and more efficient renewable energy, everywhere.
The best thing to do would be to keep it in the ground, or use it for admin officials to huff.
Re:Meanwhile in Alberta the market has cratered (Score:4, Informative)
Natural gas still has a valuable role to play. A gas generation plant can increase or decrease output in a matter of seconds - gas turbine engines respond *fast*. When the sun is obscured, it's gas turbines that kick in to make up for the loss of solar. At least until energy storage technology advances.
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So do batteries. So does mini-hydro. So do H2O split fuel cells powered by wind or solar.
Heck, even flywheels respond quickly. You can store terawatts of tidal energy in those.
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When the sun is obscured, it's gas turbines that kick in to make up for the loss of solar. ... a much simpler mechanism.
Most likely not. You know exactly when a cloud will obscure a solar plant, 30, 15 minutes in advance. The gas turbine is tied to the grid frequency
Clarify (Score:3)
>"US Department of Energy is Now Referring To Fossil Fuels as 'Freedom Gas' "
Well, no. They are referring to only natural gas as such, not all fossil fuels, as implied by the heading (which I suspect was intentional).
Anyway, marketing drivel makes me want to puke, whenever I see it- this one not excluded. The reason they are jokingly (I assuming) labeling it that way does make SOME sense, because it is natural gas that finally led the USA to have energy independence. And energy independence has been VERY important for our economy and security.
>"LNG project is critical to spreading freedom gas throughout the world by giving America's allies a diverse and affordable source of clean energy."
It is, indeed, much cleaner than the other two major sources of energy used for electricity- oil and coal. Of course, "clean" is relative.
But how long will we retain energy independence if we keep overproducing and EXPORTING what we have? We need to use this time to continue to develop renewable energy sources....
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What...the... fuck (Score:3)
I get freedom gas (Score:2)
from freedom fries.
Stupidest shit I've heard (Score:2)
used the terms "freedom gas" and "molecules of US freedom"
Holy crap, that is the stupidest shit I've heard in a long time.
Maybe even stupider than when PETA tried to rebrand ocean fish as "sea kittens", or when the DOD tried to refer to strontium radiation as "sunshine units".
Is this supposed to get the Trumptastic super patriots all hard in their pants? "But but muh FREEDOM MOLECULEZ!"
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I can top that. Look up "sunshine unit".
Brought to you by the same bullshit artists.
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I can't believe you're confabulating a proper national security goal (allies who aren't dependent on an adversary for their energy needs) with such stupidity. Our allies will only laugh at us over "freedom gas".
Freedom Gas (Score:2)
It's what power plants crave!
Well, it's official ... (Score:2, Insightful)
It is now official ... Americans are morons and assholes, no two ways about it.
What a pathetic country of fucking idiots.
I love the smell of natural gas* in the morning (Score:2)
It smells of freedom.
*odorized
Freedom gas? (Score:2)
Is what what bullshit smells like?
Years ago (Score:2)
The AEC(Atomic Energy Commission) described a full reactor meltdown as a 'Sunshine Event' I read it in a book about the NRC when I was a teenager. I cannot find any reference to it now. The book was written when kennedy was in office. He was a world class bullshiter. We have some world class bullshiters in office right now.
Molecules, schmolecules (Score:2)
For war (Score:2)
Next time the US invades a country, they can honestly say they're doing it for Freedom now.
Mechanical Engineering just got worse (Score:2)
I always hated studying mechanical engineering in the US, with British Thermal Units and all. How about this problem:
Orwell (Score:2)
Since "freedom" no longer has its original meaning in the United States, the word is available to be used in a completely different context.
It'll be confusing to the rest of the world that speaks real English though.
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Re:ummm (Score:5, Insightful)
"Plz no political shitpost responses lol"
In response to "freedom gas" and "molecules of freedom"... you've got to be kidding or trolling or something.
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You're behind the times. Russia is now a friend and those evil Europeans are deserving of a trade war.
Conservative facepalm here (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't know, I tend conservative and it seems like a facepalm to me.
Re:Conservative facepalm here (Score:4, Insightful)
The fanatics who have come to dominate conservative politics in the US are giving sensible conservative policies a bad name.
Re:Conservative facepalm here (Score:5, Insightful)
Interesting. Forgot to see if it's true (Score:2)
That's interesting, thanks.
I just realized earlier I forgot to check whether there was any reason to think the story was true. I didn't even look at who reported it.
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Most Russian gas, delivered to Germany is not "sold" ... it is payment for services we delivered to them 30 - 50 years ago.
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They're trying to convince Germany not to become more dependent on Russian gas and instead transport more expensive LNG from the US.
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Collusion with the United States is worse.
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Like this has NEVER happened before...
Congress is in the habit of naming their bills with politically expedient names that are sometimes less than accurate in how they convey the content of the proposed law. A couple come to mind: "The patriot act", "Net Neutrality"/"Internet Freedom Act", "Affordable Care Act".
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How long did you live in the US that you can't imagine that some government bullshit artist comes up with a nice, patriotic name for some crap? This is the same spin machinery that brought you the sunshine unit and the freedom fries.
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Certain wrongheaded nations want to build a pipeline to make themselves dependent on Russian gas
How DARE these countries buy the less expensive product on the open market!!!!!
Russia can and will shut off the gas to influence these nations.
And the US won't? And before you try to say "No", remember Cuba exists.
Plus will help with the very unfair trade deficit
Trade deficits don't work the way you think they do. It's not US money being paid to Europe and disappearing.
Macroeconomics isn't microeconomics, and one of the biggest differences is money can effectively disappear in microeconomics. That's not true of macroeconomics, where money changes hands but still exists.