Offshore Oil Drilling: Cleaner than Mother Nature Deroy Murdock
Painfully high vehicle- and jet-fuel prices are propelling popular demands for extracting the estimated 18 billion barrels of petroleum that rest beneath America’s coastal waters. After rescinding previous executive-branch objections, President Bush said July 14, “the only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress.” Capitol Hill Democrats claim offshore drilling poses unacceptable ecological risks. This is yet another overblown worry.
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Like clockwork each week, one or two columnists or politicians in my local papaer make a failed attempt to convince Americans that our only hope for a more comfortable and safe future is to allow multi-national energy companies to drill for every last drop of oil in areas previously set aside for environmental preservation. Promises of negligible environmental impact, lower fuel costs, and threats of a lessening of national security if we don’t drill right away are common arguments.
The fact is worldwide oil production has peaked, is now in decline and most extractible oil will be depleted in the next 40 years. It won’t be depleted, however, before the price skyrockets and the cost of everything associated with it goes up as well – ultimately leading to a global economic depression, or worse. Are we going to use up all the reserves to quench our thirst for liquid energy? Shouldn’t we be setting aside a reserve for the manufacture of plastics, solvents, lubricants, medicines, and some 500,000 by-products -- many of which are common materials we take for granted? Shouldn’t we take into account the added impact on global warming caused by the rapid increase in burning what remains of this fossil fuel?
While important issues, we should not get caught up in a near-sighted debate about how many gallons of oil might be spilled on our coast or which dictator benefits most from our oil purchases. Instead, we should become informed readers and learn about the overwhelming long-term advantages of a robust, renewable energy independence program. It may take 10 to 20 years to achieve – and there will be sacrifices along the way. Technologies to produce renewable, alternative energy exist today and costs drop as demand increases. Can we say the same for fossil fuels or uranium?
Ultimately, we must take personal responsibility and not allow any political mindset to dissuade us. Vote out politicians who refuse to act immediately. Ignore the empty words of columnists like Deroy Murdock. They are pawns for the fossil fuel industry and philosophical prisoners of the neo-conservative and free-market movements. They would rather inflate their claims for short-term profit and political gain than commit to a serious course of action that would rid us of our addiction to fossil and other non-renewable fuels. Their voices have become irrelevant.
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