Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Friday, June 20, 2008

Stop drilling the American public

Stop Drilling AmericansAs I'm sure you've heard this week, President Bush has asked Congress to end the federal ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along much of America’s continental shelf and open a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration, asserting that those steps and others would lower gasoline prices and "strengthen our national security."

I can't even begin to tell you how incredibly queasy making this whole business is. My crackers are beyond ground. They have been reduced to such a fine powder, it's as if they didn't exist in the first place. Let me tell you, I will be wearing my nightguard tonight because there's gonna be plenty of teeth gnashing going on.

Let's start with the positive spin arguments about why drilling now is better than when Bush's own father signed a presidential executive order in 1990 banning coastal oil exploration. In addition to the executive order there is a Congressional moratorium that was first enacted in 1982, and has been renewed every year since. It prohibits oil and gas leasing on most of the outer continental shelf (3 miles to 200 miles offshore).

Here are some popular arguments for opening up previously protected land:

1. $4 a gallon for gas is reason enough to start drilling. Since we won't actually be seeing the oil until about a decade from now, how does that affect today's prices? The Energy Information Administration says that even if both coasts were opened, prices would not begin to drop until 2030. The only real beneficiaries will be the oil companies.

Senator Reid (D-NV) responded to this by saying, "There is not enough oil in America to make that the salvation to our problems. Even if we open the coasts to oil drilling that won’t have a significant impact on prices. The facts are clear."

2. Bush stated that Democratic leader's past opposition to drilling for oil has helped drive gas prices to record levels. This is complete malarkey. The idea that huge deposits of oil and gas on federal land have been closed off by environmentalists and Democrats is untrue.

Senator Reid stated:

Oil companies have already had ample opportunity to increase supply, but they have sat on their hands. They aren't even using more than half of the public lands they already have leased for drilling. And despite the huge tax breaks President Bush and Republican Congresses have given oil and gas companies to invest in refineries, domestic production has actually dropped.

Of the estimated 36 billion barrels of oil on federal lands, mainly in the Rocky Mountain West and Alaska, almost two-thirds are accessible or will be after various land-use and environmental reviews. And of the 89 billion barrels of recoverable oil believed to lie offshore, the federal Mineral Management Service says fourth-fifths is open to industry, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaskan waters.

So, why is Bush asking for more drilling in protected areas and why is he asking for more land when the oil companies aren't using what's already available and not protected? Because it's a completely empty gesture to make it appear as though he's doing something to help with the energy crisis when, in fact, it won't do much of anything besides line the pockets of his industry supporters.

3. Domestic drilling is the way to end American dependence on foreign oil. This is a national security issue. The pittance of oil that will be drilled out of these areas will barely make a dent in the total amount consumed by Americans. No one knows for certain how much oil is in the moratorium area but the federal Energy Information Administration estimates that roughly 16 billion barrels of oil is covered by the offshore moratorium. Right now there's roughly 95 billion barrels of oil in unprotected areas that aren't being pursued by the oil industry. These additional 16 billion barrels are a drop in the bucket towards our consumption.

To put it another way, America contains less than 3% of the world's oil resources yet we consume almost 25% of the world's oil production. Clearly, we can't drill our way to energy independence.

4. Techniques for drilling offshore are much more safe and environmentally friendly than they were in the past. Well, let's assume that this is true. So what? That doesn't mean we need to drill everything in sight for a few billions barrels of oil given the amount of effort it will take. And, just for fun, let's assume that this is not true. Is it worth the risk to drill out sensitive areas with the potential for huge loss when the gain is so low?

How are you responding to this latest push to open up drilling? If you want to make an impact, urge Congress for conservation, better fuel standards and increased energy efficiency rather than more oil.

Let Congress know how you feel
Similar to what I did with the Farm Bill, I'm starting a campaign to get the message across to Congress. Please let them know how you feel about this issue. Please post the "Stop Drilling Americans" banner* on your blog, linking back to the following letter for readers to copy and paste and send to their local members of congress. Feel free to write your own letter if you like, this is just a starter to get you going.

Dear Sir or Madam,

President Bush's latest move to lift the federal ban on offshore oil drilling is deeply disturbing and comes at a time where little benefit can come of it. The arguments regarding energy independence are deeply flawed and there is little impact that opening up these protected areas will have on current gas prices. It is an empty gesture towards helping alleviate the strain on Americans grappling with increased oil costs.

Given the huge resources currently available to the energy industry, there is no reason to undo the environmental protections that are in place. The risk to these sensitive areas is too great and the gain is too little to warrant drilling in the areas under protection.

Conservation and increased energy efficiency is a far more powerful tool than drilling for easing the demand for oil. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently projected that new technologies and conservation alone will decrease American demand for oil by 100 billion barrels through 2050.

As my local representative, I urge you to protect our natural resources by upholding the federal laws to ban drilling in these sensitive areas and push towards adopting better policies on conservation and supporting the development of new technologies.

Sincerely,

John Q. Public
Your address here
City, State Zip
Email address


*Here is the code for the banner to add to your blog:

Update: If you tried using the code earlier and it wasn't working, I fixed it, so it should work for you now.

<a href="http://crunchychicken.blogspot.com/2008/06/stop-drilling-american-public.html"> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVruSU0JDXiesmsbYgpgBplMEysx_8EJWOhU1poE0QNAkGrqBP8A84WUT8MC0ZrOjzaW8rn6cr687_hQq_ih561RXhdmB3RRilIxShczXx2fTayTZ5mT9fn6pnyXgDiiej_9lry9pfoxk/s320/banner.jpg" alt="Stop Drilling Americans"/></a>

49 comments:

Allison said...

Great write-up.
Is it just as effective to email your rep or should the letter be hand written and snail mailed?

Michael said...

The neo-cons don’t miss a single opportunity to rape, pillage and plunder. Most of the time, I cannot help but wonder if it is opportunistic predation, or careful planning and masterful manipulation. One thing is for sure – the last seven years have made me so cynical…

Robj98168 said...

Ask a neo con what their children or grandchildren are going to do for fuel...I love the responses i get from the blue collar rush limbaugh ditto head conservatibs at work:
"tHATS THEIR PROBLEM" OR
"We'll find a solution by then" OR
"thar aint no global warming an we aint using up the oil..its all a liberal plot to elect Obama(I actually had a guy tell me that!)Yes folks my beloved blue collar neo-cons are doing ostrich impersonations

knittinandnoodlin said...

Oy. I got twisted when I saw this, too. I think what's really going on is that Bush wants a secure retirement.

And, there aren't enough offshore drilling rigs to start drilling right now anyway -- the ones we have are all committed and they can't build new ones fast enough to make an immediate (or even short-term) impact. So his logic fails at the word go when he talks about this as a solution to increased oil prices.

This man is a loon. Drilling oil will have an effect on National Security? Huh?

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Crunchy Chicken!! I have a rabid republican co-worker who was deriding me for not wanting to drill and for not trusting the oil companies to operate under any motivation but greed. You have given me the information I needed and will be sharing it with another co-worker who thinks as I do. Information is power. THANK YOU!

Greenpa said...

I'll toss a nice new weird idea out. Let's set up - the National Park Service- to do drilling in sensitive places. They need the money. We get a little more oil. The Big Oil vermin get a little competition- which they badly need. Anybody how doubts they're cahooting only needs to watch the price of gas. When it goes up 5¢ at the Exxon pump; within seconds, on the other side of the city; it goes up 5¢ at the Phillips pump.

Is this going to happen? Well, no. But it's a nice new confusion to add to the stew, don't you think? Everybody should write their Congresspeople and clamor for the NPS to be directed to do "environmentally safe oil and gas harvesting", with no inputs from the oil industry. :-)

Humble wife said...

I was just thinking to myself, why plant my orchard on my new farm. I mean I won't see results for a decade or so, so it won't benefit me now.

That is what I am hearing when I read posts like this. I am not for one solution, but many. Sadly even the wind turbines(generators) have been rebuffed by those in Massachusetts, so that the pristine views can be maintained.

Using more natural solutions are not as lovely, and result in an equal amount of harping as the oil and gas drilling. Living on a farm, I use animal waste in my compost, which is gagging those around me. You here on this blog have suggested using urine as a watering method(to which many were grossed out).

So my question is when will either side stop the whining and complaining as to who is right, and get on a plan that will direct us towards a solution that works. We may loose some beauty while not destroying the atmosphere, the carbon what nots and this and that.

Wind, solar and clear consumption is the key...and it must be grassroots, because when corporate big wigs and even notable persons get involved it becomes about the bling instead of the real issue of more for less.(as in the impact and the actually accumulation of nonsense)

Just my thoughts(oh and I am prepping the soil and area where my orchard is going to be planted in the fall...as it is absolutely imperative to look far ahead into the future)
Jennifer

Anonymous said...

Thank you!!!! Does anyone think that by magically opening up new drilling, gas will go back to $2?

I actually noted yesterday that a person wrote into the paper stating that oil is a "divine gift" given to us and we need to take advantage of it. Ugh.

Anonymous said...

well, it isn't surprising in the least... britain and the united states have been raping the middle east for decades. what's the difference, really? i'm not saying it's a good idea... not at all. but this can't be a surprise.

J said...

Oh, this is so silly. Not taking into account the massive environmental destruction, why are we willing to drill in ANWR for what is essentially just a drop in the bucket for our domestic, long-term oil needs. And drilling in the Gulf, not only is that another horrible idea, just wait for the first big hurricane that ruins the millions and millions of dollars in equipment.

You know, I can be a bit harsh sometimes, but there are moments when I think, F&*% It! Just drill it already (ANWR and Offshore oil), that way we can get on with it. I mean, no matter what, ANWR is likely to be drilled at some point, as much as we all would like to think it won't be. As gas gets more and more expensive, this will seem like a more and more viable option. I guess, I just figure if we go ahead and get it over with, perhaps we can start looking for alternatives and ways to change our lifestyles on the large scale, I mean drilling in these places only delays the inevitable - that we are going to run out of oil. Maybe I'm just a major wet blanket though.

All I can say, is these are good times NOT to own a car.

I truly do oppose both drilling in ANWR and the offshore drilling, I hope that a movement of opposition picks up to fight them. We rarely collectively make the right decision, maybe this will be a time when we can. I'll send a letter to my representatives.

Anonymous said...

@ humble wife - check out this article. i saw it last night in the toronto star. it's about a german company that manufactures wind turbines. they're vying for space in north america for a manufacturing plant. they're looking at going to southern ontario where the resources and skill is plentiful (now that the big 3 auto makers stepped out) and it's a good location/central for distribution. it would mean that states that want to order them wouldn't have long wait times for them to be shipped from europe. plus, it would probably bring the cost down too. it's pretty exciting:

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/446511

Gailavon said...

I am not up to date on all this information but I agree with humble wife.

I love nature and I really would like to do everything I can to preserve it. However nature has the resources to make this country able to produce what it uses.

We are intelligent enought to find a way to use the resources and not do major damage to the earth.

This dependence on others for something that we are capable of doing for ourselve is just plain stupid.

We have the ability to use the oil that is available to us so we should do it.

We have the ability to grow our own food so why import it.

We have people who can do customer service so why go elsewhere.

All in the name of saving the environment or money. But is it really to our benefit?

Anonymous said...

"Techniques for drilling offshore are much more safe and environmentally friendly than they were in the past.... So what? That doesn't mean we need to drill everything in sight for a few billions barrels of oil given the amount of effort it will take."
This is very true. Amen. Yes, techniques HAVE improved. I can tell you that for a fact, seeing the improvements made in the industry. But you know, it's very expensive to drill in locations like ANWR, and the only profitable way they could do so is if oil prices stay high (another topic I won't get into is the Canadian tar sands, but eek!). However, there is no reason, other than blatant pandering and corporate profits to open up pristine areas that were "given" to the public and open all of them to driling. As much as the oil industry can do to prevent problems, they will always occur. Besides, even if we forget about mud pit pollution or oil spills at the wellsite, look at how many roads are built just to get the equipment to the wellsite and keep accessibility open to trucks for shipping oil from the pumps. There should be some areas for oil exploration and drilling, yes. (there's no denying that we have to drill somewhere to keep our current standard of living) But check out GoogleEarth satellite in west Texas (near Midland for example. After looking at that, wouldn't you want to leave some places alone? And to Jennifer, I see that you are in opposition to drilling. And yes, maybe one day ANWR will be drilled, but if everybody gave up when politicians decided things for us, where would we be? Laws would be set up so that they would allow drilling in your backyard if they could, and pay you pennies for the noise, air, and water pollution you may have to deal with...(they do drill in or close to backyards in Long Beach, CA) Citizens really have to draw the line somewhere, otherwise, there really won't be a place where human activities haven't destroyed the environment.

Anonymous said...

Oh, to add. What happened to conservation? We must do something to stop the insane wastage of all resources "here at home".

It's me said...

I'm still trying to get all the information I can (some of it here and here and here ---
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g6FDdFYa6cFbUL5-h2nG0eP-vRhgD91CNR980
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/us/19offshore.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/greenblog/2008/06/obama_on_oil_drilling_not_a_lo.html )

But two thoughts occur to me:
One) please stop bashing "neo-cons" ... that's like using the word "democrats". They are individual PEOPLE who are idiots, not an entire party. While I'm no longer a Republican I can remind everyone that if you want to make inroads and change people's thought processes, the first step is to not lump everybody into one group. If just one single 'neo-con' dropped by and read this they wouldn't take any time to process the information, but would be turned off by the "lumping" and ignore what is a VITAL message. OK, off the soapbox.

Two - the oil companies already HAVE tons of leased land that they are not drilling on. They now want even MORE land and then when prices get really high, they'll have that much more to pump and sell and continue with "record profits". GRRRRR.

Thanks for bringing this to light and encouraging us to act.

nemo said...

Take a look at what oil is used for. Yesterday's banana story in the NYT is a good example. Bananas, a fruit that spoils easily and comes from far away are cheaper than home-grown apples, a fruit that keeps well.

Why? Because of cheap oil. Cheap oil makes it possible to ship the bananas and keep them refrigerated. It also powers our military so they can make sure the poor banana growers don't revolt against their borderline human working conditions.

Think of high-fructose corn syrup. It is the same story with a twist. This time there no poor campesinos, but there is wasteful farm machinery to boot.

Cheap oil has distorted our life-styles in a very profound way. Unfortunately, it is also unsustainable.

Michelle said...

Natalie,

I'm not sure what you are referring to when you talk about how Midland looks. My brother in law makes his living in those oil fields (as do most people in the area). Beside the oil derricks, what are you referring to? Because I'm sorry to tell you honey, west Texas is some ugly country no matter what you do with it (I'm from there so I can say that, and I love it! BEST food in the world!) I'm for more drilling, China is drilling 20 miles off the Florida keys. Why let the million man army country who loves to give our children lead toys have all the oil? If something bad is going to happen due to the drilling off the coast, it's already going to happen since other countries have the fingers in the pot. In my view, might as well get some oil!

Michelle said...

robj981168

You have your right to your polical opinion. Even though I'm a rush baby since birth, I'm the first one to admit that he is too arrogant and whenever I listen to his show I disagree with him at least once (usually more than once)! But I think the way you refered to "blue collar" is not very nice, what's wrong with blue collar? My husband is blue collar is he is the best man you'll ever meet. Just because someone is not a professional does not mean they are beneath you. Maybe you didn't mean it that way, but that is how it read to me.

Crunchy Chicken said...

allison - That's an excellent question. I personally would think more highly of a hand-written letter rather than something that might be a form letter, but I think what they just really track are the number of constituents responding to an issue and not much else.

I would imagine you wouldn't get a gold star next to your name unless you attached a very large check with your letter :)

Greenpa - how 'bout we have them start on your property? I hear there's a lot of natural gas there.

humble wife - you are correct in that we need to plan for the future, that you can't just look at today's gains when constructing an energy plan. That said, the amount of oil that would be drilled when they actually can get it out of the ground does not constitute much of an energy plan towards self-sufficiency. I can only imagine what the world energy demands will be in 10 - 15 years with China and India demanding more oil as they develop.

lavon - We can drill away every bit of the U.S. and still not have enough to meet demand. This is why the idea of energy independence is false.

michelle - Are you suggesting oil drilling escalation based on nationalism?

Michelle said...

Crunchy,

I guess I'm saying that if other countries are already drilling in the area, the bad effects to the enviornment are unaviodable. So might as well get some oil too. However, I do think we should be working on other energy sources as well. I think the wind power is great, Lord knows we have a ton of wind in the Southwest. They actually have quite of few of these in west Texas, go figure!

It's me said...

Michelle, would you go to my profile and send me an email. I want to ask you about some things. Thanks. Sorry Crunchy for hijacking your post.

Allison said...

Then I will just email my letters. (And no money. I don't even trust the politictians I vote for. Ha Ha.)

Be Green.

Anonymous said...

Michelle, I wasn't trying to bash West Texas. I work in the industry too. My point about west Texas was that if you look at the predominance of oil sites out there you can get a sense of what could happen to a pristine place like ANWR (though I know that we can avoid most of that with new technological advances).Regardless what a place may look like to us as humans doesn't mean that we shouldn't preserve/reserve it for nature. My point was simply that not ALL places on this earth should be drillled, especially since we know that there will be effects on the surrounding environment when drilling occurs. So, some areas should be preserved, and other options can be found to allow for that preservation.

Katy said...

To Michelle, I know where you are coming from. I live in Texas. West Texas is ugly. My family owns oils leases out that way. Yes, we lease our land to big oil companies and we get a cut of the profits. Some of these leases that were dormant for years are active right now, but not all of them are.

Oil companies are out to make a buck. They whin about regulations and what stoping them from helping us. I think its time for us to draw a line in the stand get once and for all stand up to the moster that we have created. Its not forgin oil that is killing us, it's oil. Oil companies need to spend the money they would drilling on alternative resources. That's just how I feel about it.

Segwyne said...

I actually just wrote a week ago to my congressman about this very issue. I don't exactly have a big readership, but I urged anyone who did stop by to do the same. Here is the letter I wrote. http://segwyne.blogspot.com/2008/06/write-to-your-representatives.html

skyblot said...

It's pretty OBVIOUS that if driving my hugantic hummer costs more than my weekly liquor budget, we should be liquidating the planet of its oil, immediately, whales be damned. I mean, come on. I have off-roading to do. This is an American tragedy.

Stephanie said...

good blog is making peaple think of what is going on around them and theat is always a good thing

Burbanmom said...

Hey, I've decided to start "phoning things in" so to speak. According to No Impact Man's post today, phone calls carry more weight than emails and Lord knows I'm too lazy to snail mail. Took a total of 3 minutes and 26 seconds to call my reps.

Sarah said...

thanks for the letter example..i've just emailed my congresspeople for the first time ever!

Unknown said...

I just found your blog and I have one word for you - BRAVO!! I will be returning, as well as recommending your site. Thanks for the info!

Chief said...

I would echo Michelle's statements. If China or any other entity is not encumbered by our laws, then they will drill. I would prefer our companies to profit before any other state-run company. I also have more faith in our companies' environmental sensitivity than the Chinese. One other thing to keep in mind, if oil fields are not properly exploited with the latest technology, large percentages of the oil can be irretrievably lost.

With that being said...I am only for drilling in areas over which we do not have complete control. We should hold on to ANWR for as long as we can. I also agree that domestic drilling will not bring us back to $2/gallon gas. It will give us more time to bring the myriad of alternatives that are not currently feasible to market.

Tragedy of the Commons

Brooxi said...

oh my god, Bush is so short sighted. What a dork.

Congrats for being named a blogger of note!!! I LOVE your tag line. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Crunchy, I totally agree about Bush being a lunatic about not allowing oil drilling. We need that oil!

rileyv said...

okok no boohoohoo's, i've got all the answars!

1. offshore drilling platforms will remind everyone who lives on the coast (96.2% of american's) that oil's on the way! and their demand will plummet thru the roof whcih will drive prices even deeper into credit card debt!

2. its has! bush has a team of pshychopologies that studys FACTS and so if he says people's "frump at the pump" is a record breaking feat then its our american duties to TRUST GOD AND COUNTRY!!

3. i haet to brake it to you, but if the offshore oils dont seep into our pumphouses, we wil hafe to NUKE CHINAand drill thru the molten earth center to get their black gold pools that they're hiding. nuff s'aid.

4. its totally safe/friendly, becuase oil is good for humanskin and sealskin (jsut look at all the pictures of XonMibole and their environmental oil for skin plan!) so we need to utilize the age-old drill'n'dump routine! FOR FREEDOM!

Anonymous said...

Excuse me Michelle, but I believe that the Chinese are NOT drilling anywhere near the US or Cuba. That is yet another Rush invention. Now that you have confessed to being a Rush fan, I can forgive so many of your erroneous statements. You know, there are subjective comments, which I can let pass, and then there are facts and lies. BTW, I am a farmer, a plumber, an electrician, in short, a blue collar guy and proud of it. I have the scars and the dirt to prove it. But I sincerely think that Rush is a pathetic human being and that he does real harm to the US every day.
Think about it. All the same, I do read your comments and I enjoy them. I have no desire to patronize you in any way. But perhaps you might wish to broaden your information sources. Reading good ol' Crunchy takes care of part of that.

Dre said...

Dear Michelle,
I love you! You said everything I was feeling. You have my suppor!

Dear Everyone else,
My entire family is "blue collar" and I would kick somebody's ass for making a comment like that to my face. "Blue-collar" keeps this country (and our economy) running. You take away blue-collar jobs (like drilling) and us blue-collar folk stop spending so much money. Hmmmm. Could it be the reason for the ressesion? I guess we will never know if we spend so much media coverage on why we shouldn't drill the oil fields. Regardless of how soon (or lack there of) we will see the benifits at the pump, non the less there WILL be benifits.

Anonymous said...

E-mailed all 3 of them. Considering calling too.

I've heard that the mails (e-mail and snail) are just tallied, but when they start getting phone calls too, they really look into an issue.

Better yet, maybe I should just drive to D.C.! Well okay that'd waste a lot of gas :-p

Michelle said...

rc

Actually I did not get the info from Rush, I'm getting out of debt and have been listening to Dave Ramsey instead (and I didn't get it from him either). It is all over the news. Here is one example:
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/china_starts_oil_drilling.html

Crunchy Chicken said...

Michelle - I thought I posted this earlier, but either way here goes again.

Regarding China drilling offshore from this link:

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) claimed that, "Right at this moment, some 60 miles or less off the coast of Key West, Florida, China has the green light to drill for oil in order to lower energy costs in that country."

Problem is, that's all false. Like, completely false. China is not currently drilling off the shores of Cuba; in fact, it doesn't even have a off shore drilling contract. What is does have is a permit to drill on Cuban land. "China is not drilling in Cuba's Gulf of Mexico waters, period,'' Jorge Piñon, an energy expert at the University of Miami's Center for Hemispheric Policy, told the Miami Herald. In fact, it is not yet drilling on Cuban land, either.

Michelle said...

Crunchy,

I realize that they are not drilling yet, but they have plans to, and this is China we are talking about (and Cuba). Not democracys, but communist countries. I believe that the best defense is a good offense, and I think that it will be happening before we know it.

Anonymous said...

I think that most people in this country are looking for a quick-fix to reduce fuel prices. Unfortunately, there isn't one. And although I am not a political person, I don't think that Bush is the problem either (though he may be a contributor along with ALL of the politicians in Washington). The fact is, when Bush leaves office, oil prices will not go down. It boils down to basic economics of supply an demand. The more we demand, the higher the price. The real solution is to find alternative ways to solve our energy problems. And the best way to do that is reduce our demand! And not just for gasoline! Petroleum is used in almost everything including plastics, cosmetics, dental work, and the list goes on and on. We need to drastically reduce our consumption and educate others to do the same.

Oh - it looks so easy in print... But everything starts somewhere - we ALL just need to do our part.

I will contact my representatives by phone and post the banner on my site.

Green Bean said...

I can't even comment because the whole drilling thing is beyond ridiculous but thanks, as always, for making it easy for us to stand up and be heard.

Unknown said...

Great blog! Whatever happened to conservation? I realize Pres. Carter was one of the most disliked Presidents this country has seen, but he did have a point when it came to conservation. People in the USA are so wasteful and then we complain we don't have enough!

Jason C said...

John McCain, aka McBush, made these same claims just the day before Bush came out for drilling. They way I see it is that Bush and Cheney will be out of office and have this infrastructure setup and will probably profit off of their lobbyist friends in the oil business. The oil companies already have over 68 billion acres to drill in currently. The amount of oil they can reclaim from all of these efforts is minimal and will not make the price of a gallon gas fall.

The way I see it is that this is a lot like the claims being made before we invaded Iraq. It's all of this false propaganda and then in a couple years they will say "oops - maybe we were wrong." Except for the fact that they never admit to being wrong. It's bullshit.

Why is the price of gas going up so much? It was deregulated a few years ago. The price of gas is rising because people are investing a lot of money in this commodity driving the price of a barrel of oil up and up.

Bush, Cheney, and McBush make me sick. Either fix the problem with repealing the deregulation put in place after Iraq or let the prices rise. Don't drill new places like ANWAR.

I want to see all these fat friggin Americans driving their SUVs start to think about their choices. Maybe they won't sit and let their car idle for 5 minutes while their special order double quarter pounder is being made and they sip on their gigantic chocolate shake and personal box of family sized fries.

-Jason
http://www.screamtobegreen.com

Anonymous said...

Wow, this is a great blog!!! I'm glad it was featured on Blogger and I stumbled into it!!

Anonymous said...

So sick of Hollywood Hugging Liberals bashing Bush while driving around in their suv's, driving up the oil prices , killing babies, and giving that LOSER Harry Reid any type of credibility. Like a robot that is sucked into to blindly following stupidity your constant quotes of Harry Reid show what Free Thinkers you all are. Um, get a life !! You are all so big on accountability, yet you do what Feels good, with no consequences for your actions. Gee, this baby doesn't fit my greedy lifestyle, so I need the right to kill it !! Ya, Okaaaaay !! It is everyones ( Republicans/Bush's) fault that we have global warming, and high gas prices, yet what type of SUV does Harry Reid drive ? And does he carpool ? Um, Ya, thats what I thought.

Piddler said...

Hey CC,

My representatives have been contacted. Thanks for spreading the word. Thomas Friedman had a great article in today's NYTimes on the same subject.

Thanks!

Sam said...

This is a somewhat defeatist POV but I think this is the one issue that most Americans feel strongly about (i.e. cheap gas) and its going to happen regardless of how many letters and phone calls are made. The drilling is going to happen and until every drop is taken there won't be any rest.

Anonymous said...

Lets just drill for oil in the sands of our 51st state. We have invested a lot there already and it wouldn't anyone would it?