Bush: Drill, Drill, Drill
I'm as ticked as anyone at $4/gallon gas. With trips planned to Topeka, Kansas and Chamberlain, South Dakota in the coming days, I'm not looking forward to filling up my Pacifica's gas tank.And as a child of a petroleum pipeliner and a former petroleum pipeline summer employee, I have at least a small understanding of the oil and refining businesses.
I don't think petroleum or petroleum companies are inherently evil. If you like to drive, you need gas. And we all can't have backyard refineries.
And I like to drive my Pacifica.However, just like Sen. John McCain's gas tax holiday idea for this summer vacation season, Pres. George W. Bush's idea to drill off shore and in the Alaskan Arctic are just short-term ideas that pander but don't provide long-term solutions.
From the Wall Street Journal:
President Bush called on Congress to lift a ban on offshore oil and gas drilling that has been in place since 1981, saying lagging domestic production has contributed to sharply higher gasoline prices. He also urged Democratic lawmakers to drop their opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and proposed streamlining the permit process for building new refining capacity in the U.S.
Separately, the White House said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman will be attending a one-day meeting of oil producers in Saudi Arabia.
For more information, see:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121379512215184123.html?mod =djemalertNEWS
Oil will continue to be part of the energy equation for the foreseeable future. But the sooner the United States embarks on meaningful government funded research and development on biofuels, hydrogen, solar, wind, and other "green" energy solutions, we will continue to be held hostage by exorbitant fuel prices, multi-national corporations, unfriendly foreign governments--and our own laziness and lack of will.
Had we actually taken Pres. Jimmy Carter's warnings to heart about energy independence in the late 1970s (Yes, I know it's not cool to mention anything positive about Pres. Carter), frankly, we wouldn't be in the current fix.But while 30 years ago would have been the best time to plant the energy independence "tree," the next best time is now. But Pres. Bush--ironically, considering his name--is not interested in planting "trees."
That will have to wait for a Pres. Barack Obama.
Technorati Tags: energy, fuel prices, offshore drilling, ANWR, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, oil
Posted on Wednesday, June 18, 2008
by
Todd Epp
in Energy/Gas Prices, 2008 Presidential Election, 2008 Election
|
2 Comments
Todd Epp
in Energy/Gas Prices, 2008 Presidential Election, 2008 Election
|
2 Comments
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Reader Comments (2)
Hi ya Skippy.......
What do you think the cost is to produce hydrogen? How about the cost to add the infrastructure to make it as readily available as gas and oil?
At the time that President Goober Peas was spewing about hydrogen, it was not economically feasible to pursue. I am not sure that it is yet today, but boy it feels good to talk about it.
And finally, my understanding is that the production of hydrogen releases that dreaded to "C02" in to the air......
Skippy... C02 is evil, I heard Vice President Global Warming say so, and everything he says is believable. Hydrogen is not the answer, neither is oil in the long term.
So.... if it takes 30 years to make this change.... what do we do in the mean time..... you going to walk to Topeka?
Alter, buddy, your information is, well, so 2007. In April 2008 my wife and I went whale watching on a hydrogen powered ship. http://www.newenergy.is/newenergy/en/news/?cat_id=22162&ew_0_a_id=305913 Google other searches and you'll see that Iceland and others are making commercial applications of hydrogen power - unlike shale oil, which in 40 years of "development" hasn't produced one commercial gallon.
This independent (demo for the primary) agrees with McCain's point that it's long past the time to open drilling off our coasts. Twenty seven years ago it was a bad idea. But technology's improved, as has the need. McCain's added that there are areas to protect from drilling. His list included the Grand Canyon, Everglades, and, yes, refuges, - saying that they are refuges for a reason. We can't drill our way out of this problem but drilling where we can will assist while we further develop commercial renewable alternatives. It's also high time we cancelled the leases on the 68 million acres on which oil companies are not drilling - and transfer those to companies who will drill. The demos need to get beyond their circular firing squad mentality and realize that it will require oil, nuclear and non-oil contributions to address future energy needs.