Earlier this week, 45 Republican congressmen in the house decided to protest the house taking its annual august vacation without voting on 'offshore drilling' or any of the other Republican energy plans. The goal of this strategic move is to make Democrats the scapegoats of current high prices. One has to appreciate the irony of this situation, the GOP is trying to look like a defender of the common people's struggle against high gas prices, when in reality common sense would tell us the opposite.
The harsh reality of the Republican plan to drill in Alaska is lost on those who don't acknowledge the facts. That oil would not reach pumps until 7-10 years from now and would still be a minority share compared to foreign oil. Even if the plan eased gas prices in the decade after it was enacted, we would still be hooked on oil. Our children would have to worry, vote on, and find the next source of oil once our domestic sources dried up.
We had an energy crises in the late 70's where the price of oil tripled and part of Jimmy Carter's answer was an emphasis on renewable resources and increased fuel efficiency. What did we do when the crises subsided? Carter's emphasis on renewable energy and fuel efficiency was ignored, the SUV became the vehicle of choice for the American consumer, and all was forgotten. Now we have a similar crises from different sources and a chance to make a different choice. That different choice is renewable energy and we would be fools to make the same mistake again.
So when you see the Republicans in the house 'standing up' for an energy plan that would take as they call it "immediate action", remember that finite resources are finite solutions, and taking immediate pressure off our pumps comes at the price of us fixing what should have been fixed more than 30 years ago.
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3 comments:
You are absolutely correct, sir. I think part of the problem is a profit motivation for Big Oil (obviously) and those Republicans are probably in Big Oil's pocket.
I hate it when I can't cite my sources, but either president Hoover or Roosevelt, during the depression, gave cold hard cash to the unemployed and poor. When criticized about his decision, the president stated that people don't eat over the period a few years, they eat now.
Offshore drilling, Alaskan Drilling, and every other drilling (except dental drilling, nobody likes that) might be a temporary fix, but people are suffering now for increased prices in oil. Drilling now for an immediate solution takes pressure of the economy, allowing money to flow to more important products, like R&D.
Although, again a temporary solution, it's important to relieve the stress we have now so we can focus on what we need in the next 20 - 50 years. Once our economy is functioning again, alternative fuels are far more practical to develop.
Oh, yeah. And stumbled.
Good reading for any blogger:
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/04/19/how-to-deal-with-negative-comments-on-your-blog/
In response to the anonymous post above -
First I want to thank you for the intelligent and respectful opposing comment, the first of the blog.
When Roosevelt gave out cash during the depression I believe the economic woes on the poor were much different than today. If we have masses of Americans starving or saving their rubber bands and pennies, then an immediate solution in the form of aid is required. We do not have the same conditions as the great depression and I am of the opinion that the situation would have to get much worse to warrant immediate aid. My fear is that we will ignore longterm solutions with the ease of mind that a temporary solution such as drilling would provide. We ignored the long term solutions Jimmy Carter offered, and we are more than capable of ignoring them again but I agree with you that if this crises ever mirrors the great depression, immediate solutions would be necessary. The truth is it doesn't yet.
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