$16 a gallon, anyone?
by Alan Moore
Published: June 20, 2008
President George W. Bush came out with a revolutionary solution this week to America’s energy crisis. As gas prices steadily march past the $4.00 mark in many areas of the country, Bush has finally decided to allow for drilling throughout the United States and on the Outer-Continental Shelf (OCS) surrounding U.S. coastlines. Supposedly, these areas contain more oil than Saudi Arabia and other OPEC member nations could ever dream of owning. Personally, I see lifting this ban as an important step towards making America energy independent, both in the short and the long run. Alternative energy sources are a great idea, but apparently converting corn into fuel ruins global food supplies and causes rioting in the third world. A fresh influx of oil will impact prices and buy us time while we work out the kinks in solar and other related energy industries.
The ban prohibiting off-shore drilling was put in place in 1982 and reinforced by executive order in 1990. Interestingly enough, the name on that order’s signature is George H.W. Bush. Granted, a gallon of gasoline was only, on average, $1.16 that year, but it’s not like our dependence on foreign oil wasn’t an issue 18 years ago. We just chose to ignore it and shunned the thought of driving something with less than eight cylinders under the hood. Then came 2008 - the year of the $4.00 gallon. Ford has to offer employee pricing in order to sell trucks and I’m wondering why we ever thought off-shore drilling was a bad idea.
Worst is the timing of Bush’s action. Democratic Congressional leaders, in response to President Bush’s recent speech wherein he declared his intention to free up coastal oil reserves, questioned why Bush, in the six years of a Republican-controlled Congress, did not move to drill in the Green River Basin, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, OCS and other areas? I, too, would be interested in hearing that answer. Sure, oil prices have doubled this year alone, but fuel price increases have been hitting our economy day after day since Hurricane Katrina struck in September of 2005. Who ever thought $2.50 per gallon would be considered cheap?
U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss, a famed Georgia Republican, released a campaign ad last week in which he draws the following correlation: “When Democrats took control of Congress last year, a gallon of gas was $2.33 a gallon. Now, we’re hovering at the $4.00 mark.”
I genuinely think highly of Sen. Chambliss, but this ad doesn’t quite tell the whole story. The fact is, when a Republican president took office seven years ago, a gallon of that same good ol’ 87 octane was near the $1.70 mark. Granted, the man in the White House can’t take all the blame, which is why the senator’s ad was nothing more than an attempt to exploit an issue that’s crushing American families and small businesses. If anyone is to blame for today’s supply shortages it is the politicians who governed 18 and 8 years ago. Even if the ‘06 Democratic Congress had opened up every underground and underwater oil reserve to drilling, we would still be a couple of years away from reaping the benefits of an increased supply.
But don’t let the delayed effect fool you. The time to act is now. Congress must pass a law that makes it legal to drill off shore, on shore and anywhere we can tap into significant reserves. If they don’t, then $16 per gallon of gas is only a decade away.
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June 21st, 2008 at 12:43 am
Drill baby drill! DRILL, DRILL, DRILL!
Drill baby drill! DRILL, DRILL, DRILL!
I used to be an environmentalists. But that was when a gallon of gas was $2.20.
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Haha! :) Amen, Star.