America’s Oil Dependency
Is real debate finally getting under way?
During the past couple of weeks some ideas have begun to be presented to the public about how to reduce America’s dependency on foreign oil. Three very powerful men in the US have different approaches as well as different agendas about how to meet this challenge. At some point each of them have made decisions and taken actions which have had a significant impact on history.
Being well informed is the first step if one wants to participate and be a part of creating the future destiny for the United States and the world. The policies to be implemented by the next administration will come from proposals like the ones described below.
President George W. Bush is advocating tapping the oil supply at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Northeast Alaska as a measure to achieve this goal. Quoting an article posted by the National Resource Defense Council: “It would take 10 years for any Arctic Refuge oil to reach the market, and even when production peaks -- in the distant year of 2027 -- the refuge would produce a paltry 3 percent of Americans' daily consumption. The U.S. government's own Energy Information Agency recently reported that drilling in the Arctic would save less than 4 cents per gallon in 20 years. Whatever oil the refuge might produce is simply irrelevant to the larger issue of meeting America's future energy needs.” http://www.nrdc.org/land/wilderness/arctic.asp
More recently former Vice-President Al Gore, gave a speech on July 17 in Washington D.C. called “The challenge to repower America,” of which the main point is this: “America must commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and other clean sources within 10 years.” http://www.wecansolveit.org/pages/al_gore_a_generational_challenge_to_repower_america/
The latest effort to address oil dependency is being launched by 80-year-old legendary oilman T. Boone Pickens, who is spending $58 million to promote his plan. Pickens is the founder of Mesa Petroleum, also known as Mesa Limited Partnership, the nation's largest independent producer of domestic oil and gas and one of its largest gas producers. It is a publicly held corporation with headquarters in Dallas and offices in Amarillo, Fort Worth, and Las Colinas. Mr. Pickens is putting his money where his ideas are, and in Texas he has begun assembling the pieces of a huge wind farm. He estimates the cost at $6 billion to $10 billion. http://www.pickensplan.com/
In the first case, President Bush appears to be driven primarily by power. By implementing the policies that he proposes he will be guaranteeing the continued support for his weakening presidency and for his party from one of the most influential industries in the world.
Even though Al Gore is famous for his commitment to the environment, the fact that he was Vice President of the US and is calling for leadership as a determining factor for the success of his proposal, it would be naïve to think that power does not play a role in his intentions.
With Mr. Pickens it is very clear that he is mainly driven by making a profit. His history as a businessman leaves no doubt of what has been his primary motivation. Yet it is also known that he is willing to invest significant amounts of money into politics when doing so favors his interests. |
