DRILLING FOR OIL IN THE
Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve
Not a Solution
The Congress has now opened up the possibility and increased the probability that 'Big Oil' will be allowed to drill for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve. The President has urged this and has said that this will help to ease our dependence on foriegn oil. At forecasted peak output which will take a few years, ANWR oil fields will produce 1 million barrels of oil a day. That would be about 5% of our daily consumption. Hardly enough to reduce our dependence on OPEC.
The Congress has now opened up the possibility and increased the probability that 'Big Oil' will be allowed to drill for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve. The President has urged this and has said that this will help to ease our dependence on foriegn oil. At forecasted peak output which will take a few years, ANWR oil fields will produce 1 million barrels of oil a day. That would be about 5% of our daily consumption. Hardly enough to reduce our dependence on OPEC.
What opening up ANWR does is delay the inevitable for an oil addicted US economy. There will be a day, in the not too distant future, when a sudden disruption in the flow of oil occurs. That will be the equivalent of a withdrawal from oil to run our factories, electric plants, fuel our airplanes and automobiles, heat & cool our homes and offices, along with all the products and by-products we use oil for. ANWR is no solution and is not even a band-aid for what is sure to be a very harsh reality.
By opening up ANWR, we are doing the equivalent of selling our body parts for drug money to support an out of control habit. The only solution to our dependence on foriegn oil and resolving our nations energy crisis is to develop alternative energy sources. The time was 30 years ago, 1974, when we were put on notice of how powerful OPEC is and how dependent we are on the oil they supply to us. Now we face a national emergency. If we spent the money that we are spending to fund the War in Iraq to fund research to develop other forms of energy and to kick the fossil fuel addiction, we could do it and fix the problem permanently.
Big oil won't allow it. Politicians are too weak to make the hard decisions to lead the nation properly. And the American consumer is resistant to changing bad habits and accepting a new reality. Our nation as a whole is resistant to change, and we have a history of waiting until change is forced upon us...that change is coming and alot sooner than most are prepared for.
The time to act is now. ANWR is not the solution. Invading Iraq to secure huge oil reserves is not the solution. We must spend the required money to develop new energy sources and implement a national energy policy and changes in transportation and electricity generation ASAP.
Big oil needs to help. The automobile manufacturers need to get on board. Consumers must demand the alternatives. And our government must provide the funding and facilitate the changes before this change is forced upon this country.
Bush: "No Question" US Is "Hooked" On Foreign Energy
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Faced with surging crude oil and gasoline prices, President George W. Bush said Wednesday that U.S. consumers must change the way they use energy, and the country must develop hydrogen-powered automobiles. Bush added there is "no question" the U.S. is currently "hooked" on foreign sources of energy. "We are going to have to change our habits. We are going to have develop hydrogen-powered automobiles," Bush said. Bush made the comments at a joint press conference with Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. Bush noted the U.S. and Canadian automobile industries are already highly integrated and expressed the hope this will lead the U.S. and Canada to develop cutting-edge technology for a new generation of cars that use hydrogen as a fuel source. Turning to the U.S., Bush said it was clear the economy needs to be regeared to consume less energy. "We are using a lot of it (energy), and we need to conserve better in the United States. We are dependent on energy from overseas and we need to become less dependent on energy from overseas," Bush said. Bush praised Canada's efforts to produce oil from tar sands, and said the U.S., Mexico and Canada needed to share technology for producing energy. "There is a lot we can do and will do on energy," Bush said. Once again, Bush said lawmakers ought to look at the cost of gasoline and crude oil and pass his package of energy legislation. "I put forth a strategy to the United States Congress in 2001 and they are still debating it," Bush said. "Now is the time to get a bill to my desk. This is the year." For his part, Martin noted Canada has a huge untapped resource in the form of hydro-power and added the energy sector in North America will be a big plus for all three countries. "Canada has great potential in terms of hydro-electricity," Martin said. He pointed to the potential for more power from northern Manitoba, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador. "The whole energy sector for all of us is a huge opportunity in terms of our competitiveness with the rest of the world," Martin said.
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Faced with surging crude oil and gasoline prices, President George W. Bush said Wednesday that U.S. consumers must change the way they use energy, and the country must develop hydrogen-powered automobiles. Bush added there is "no question" the U.S. is currently "hooked" on foreign sources of energy. "We are going to have to change our habits. We are going to have develop hydrogen-powered automobiles," Bush said. Bush made the comments at a joint press conference with Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. Bush noted the U.S. and Canadian automobile industries are already highly integrated and expressed the hope this will lead the U.S. and Canada to develop cutting-edge technology for a new generation of cars that use hydrogen as a fuel source. Turning to the U.S., Bush said it was clear the economy needs to be regeared to consume less energy. "We are using a lot of it (energy), and we need to conserve better in the United States. We are dependent on energy from overseas and we need to become less dependent on energy from overseas," Bush said. Bush praised Canada's efforts to produce oil from tar sands, and said the U.S., Mexico and Canada needed to share technology for producing energy. "There is a lot we can do and will do on energy," Bush said. Once again, Bush said lawmakers ought to look at the cost of gasoline and crude oil and pass his package of energy legislation. "I put forth a strategy to the United States Congress in 2001 and they are still debating it," Bush said. "Now is the time to get a bill to my desk. This is the year." For his part, Martin noted Canada has a huge untapped resource in the form of hydro-power and added the energy sector in North America will be a big plus for all three countries. "Canada has great potential in terms of hydro-electricity," Martin said. He pointed to the potential for more power from northern Manitoba, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador. "The whole energy sector for all of us is a huge opportunity in terms of our competitiveness with the rest of the world," Martin said.
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