First Mr. McCain and now Mr. Bush are calling for the ban on offshore oil drilling to be lifted. If this is not good ole’ American politics at work I don’t know what is. Don’t fall for it; the only ones who will benefit from lifting this ban are the corrupt politicians and the greedy oil companies. This is not the answer to our problems; it will only make our problems worse. Global warming is real, both Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain have acknowledged this, so why would they even consider lifting this ban on Offshore Drilling? The answer is clear. This is an election year and they are using fear as a method of gaining support.
Use common sense, if the ban were lifted, how long would it take before these oil rigs would be pumping oil, and at what expense. The environmental impact from the construction of these oil rigs alone would be horrible. We do not need more oil we need better alternatives. I would rather see $10 per gallon gas than to see more oil produced, particularly from offshore drilling.
The second largest oil spill in history, off the Bay of
Campeche, Mexico, second only to the whole Gulf
War. The amount was 140 million gallons, in 1979.
photo by NASA
Please do your research before you support this devastating, senseless, and greedy approach to our problems? Even Mr. Bush has acknowledged that it would take years for this solution to have an impact on today’s oil prices. Our money and resources are much better spent on finding alternatives to oil.
With big oil companies posting quarterly (that’s 3 months) profits in the billions of dollars, why are they not being investigated for price gouging? I understand that the oil companies may not entirely control the price of gas. As I understand it the commodities market sets the price of gas. Why then do we not insist that some of these obscene profits be used to find alternative sources of energy?
“The use of solar energy has not been opened up, because the oil industry does not own the sun.”
~Ralph Nader
The problem does not lie entirely with the greedy oil companies and corrupt politicians. We as consumers are largely to blame as well. It seems to me that even at $4.00 per gallon for gasoline that too many Americans are still driving their automobiles as if gas were still $1.00 per gallon. Until we enact change in ourselves, how can we expect change in government and greedy corporations? We allow ourselves to be controlled by the laws of supply and demand. As long as we demand there will always be someone willing to supply.
It is up to us, we are a powerful people and a powerful nation. We have an opportunity to lead the world down the path to a brighter cleaner world. We have the opportunity to set an example that other countries would follow. Instead, we use excuses like, “If China and India don’t do it why should we?” It’s not up to China and India, It is up to us. If we all sit around waiting for someone else to take the first step, guess what, no one takes a step.
To coin a phrase I heard all too often by supporters of the illegal Iraq war, “If you are not a part of the solution, then you are a part of the problem.” Please, do not be a part of the problem. The first step is to curb your desire and dependence on oil, do not drive if you can walk or ride a bicycle. Cutting back just 10% can and will have a huge impact on our environment. Do not wait for your neighbors to set an example for you to follow, set an example for your neighbors, and let them follow you.
Please Visit these sites to learn more about why we all should be apposed to Offshore Drilling
CultureChange.org Committee Against Oil Exploration
Natural Resources Defense Council
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Tell Congress You Won’t Buy the Lie
http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/stop_arctic_and_offshore_drilling
In the seven years since George Bush and Dick Cheney began a “Drill and Spill” rampage worthy of nineteenth century oil barons, the price of oil has skyrocketed 100 dollars and the price of gasoline has more than doubled.
But don’t wait for them to admit failure. The White House is too busy exploiting our pain at the gas pump in order to hand Big Oil the ultimate prize: access to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and America’s spectacular coastlines.
Their plan is simple and cynical. The President and his Congressional allies will sell America the big lie: If we’d only let the oil giants drill where they want, our problems at the pump will be over.
Tell your Senators and Representative you are not buying it. And tell them now, before they go home for the July 4th break and feel even more heat to sacrifice our natural heritage.
America cannot drill its way out of this energy mess. We simply don’t have enough oil to move the world market.
President Bush’s own Energy Department estimates that drilling in the Arctic Refuge would lower prices at the pump by less than four pennies per gallon — and that would be 20 years from now!
Drilling off the spectacular coastlines of California, New England and Florida might produce a few weeks’ worth of oil and lower prices by a few more pennies. Meanwhile, the price of gas has gone up 50 cents just this spring!
There’s only one way to end our energy pain and that is by breaking our destructive dependence on oil. We need cars that get at least 40 miles per gallon. We need millions of plug-in hybrids that connect to a cleaner electric grid powered by renewables like wind and solar. We need more mass transit and better biofuels.
These are the real energy solutions that President Bush has sacrificed on the altar of oil addiction. Only the oil companies would want more of the same.
Tell your Senators and Representative to reject these shameless land grabs by Big Oil. Tell them to start kicking our national oil habit instead of emptying our wallets and destroying our last wild places.
And please, do it now . . . before the very worst bills come to a vote.
Sincerely,
Frances
Frances Beinecke
President
NRDC Action Fund