No Energy Policy, Big Trouble Ahead
February 28th, 2008 at 07:51am Jeff Rushing
It’s long been the case that certain groups, i.e. environmental extremists, have held up very crucial legislation regarding fundamental energy policy in this country. We will soon see the effects of this with close to $4 per gallon gasoline. While it is very important to always look and invest for cleaner sources of energy this fact remains, we will be a nation dependant on oil for years to come.
The fact that congress has not been able to pass legislation allowing drilling in ANWR and offshore is a disaster. This is because one side of the aisle has been stonewalling and is beholden to environmental extremists, that would be the Democrats. We have not been allowed to drill or build a refinery in this country for close to 35 years.
Does anyone care? I DO. We are currently at the mercy of foreign sources of oil. This is starting to have a huge impact on everything.
We have technologies available now that would allow for drilling with very minimal environmental impact. ANWR is remote and a very small area would be affected. Has anyone ever seen pics of the area where new drilling would occur? There is nothing there!!!! Come on people, start using your heads. We need to drill offshore NOW.
Again there are technologies available where nothing would be disturbed. The environmental extremists want none of this and have most democrats in their hip pockets. China is going to start drilling for oil off the coast of Cuba soon.Do we want this? Talk about potential for oil spills close to our shores. We need to be the ones that drill off our shores not another nation. We need to pass new legislation sooner than later that allows for drilling and building refineries in this country.
I want the U.S. to remain a super power not beholden to any country. Think about it!!!
Jeff Rushing
Entry Filed under: Offshore drilling, Energy policy
6 Comments Add your own
1. Wester Wuori | February 28th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Ahh, the loss of nuance. Again, too many issues come down to being for or against something, with no room for middle ground. Our energy policy is influenced just as much by Republicans beholden to oil company and auto industry interests as it is by Democrats influenced by the environmental lobby. Both sides dig in, blame the other and then nothing getts done.
What the U.S. needs is an energy policy that addresses both supply and demand. On the supply side, we need to come up with new energy sources that are attainable without destroying the environment and that may certainly include offshore drilling and drilling in ANWR. But, that also includes continued research into other sources for our energy, such as nuclear, wind, geothermal, etc.
And on the demand side, we need to change our ways as consumers so that we’re more energy efficient and take a greater responsibility to be energy-conscious consumers. That means each of us has to be smarter in how we consume gas, electricity, natural gas, etc. We might even need to set our thermostats a little lower in the winter, a little higher in the summer, and get rid of that gas-guzzling SUV.
Both parties are to blame in the debate on energy policy and nothing will get accomplished until both sides begin to give a little ground in the debate and in policy development.
2. Jeff Rushing | February 28th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
While I agree with most of what you said in your comment.The reality is that in congress it has been the left that has stalled or killed legislation for drilling or nuclear power.You mention that maybe we should stop driving gas guzzling SUV’S.What I love about this country
is I have the right to make my own choices including what I want to drive.It makes no sense that we have been hamstrung by the left regarding energy independence and then those same people are telling us we have to conserve because we are more dependent
than ever on foreign sources of energy.
3. Don R. Gugliuzza | February 28th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
There’s enough blame to go around. But I have just one question. If we’re so dependent on foreign oil and it’s such a bad thing, why are we exporting oil, how much and to whom? I don’t know the answer but wish I did.
4. Jeff Rushing | February 29th, 2008 at 8:20 am
I am not sure about the answer to that question either.I will do some digging and see what I can come up with.My guess is if this is true it would not be a large amount.Good question!!!
5. Matthew | February 29th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I hate to say it, but we have stalled a lot of our own alternate energy source endeavers in this country. We had become complacent, and lazy with respect to oil production, never considering an exhaustable fuel source would would ever become entangled. Now, we are held at the mercy of our fuel producers. In every aspect of our modern world, oil is fuel of life.
We should have started drilling and alternate explorations for fuel as long back as he end of WWII, especially following the constantly increasing unrest in the Arab world. Could have, would have, should have.
From what I’ve learned, had we started on the path of the original plan for alternate oil (drilling on-shore in the US), we would actually be very close, now, to supplying a much larger percentage of our own fuel. And with our flex-fuel technologies, maybe lessen our burden even more in light of that assumption.
Ethanol has it’s down-side too. I agree that chastisement for personal vehicle selection is a silly argument. Every individual is free to choose what they drive, and should not be chastised for that.
As a family man, I personally choose vehicles that are reasonable to drive, fit with my family’s lifestyles and hobbies, and find a model that gets the best gas mileage for what type of vehicle it is I feel that I need. I go for functional and reasonable. I’m out to impress nobody with my vehicle selection.
We hold ourselves back because powerful industrialists stand to lose on their overseas ventures with every step that we, as a country, take toward self-sufficiency. Suddenly the currency exchange rate, and wages required to hire solid, reliable homeland help bite too much into the huge profits that they currently enjoy. That’s what I see.
6. Gary | March 3rd, 2008 at 8:19 am
PEOPLE DONT WORRY , OBAMA WILL FIX IT LOL, YA RIGHT.
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed