Dixie - In Memoriam
New member
Back during the Gerald Ford days, our Congress had a great debate about our gasoline problems. The country was in the midst of a gas shortage like we had never seen before. People waited for hours in line for a small amount of gas, and the government had to implement rationing. At the time, the biggest problem was not being able to get a reliable supply of oil from the OPEC nations. Because of 'supply and demand' the price was high, but nothing compared to today's prices. The main problem was supply.
It was suggested at that time, that we may need to build more domestic oil infrastructure. American oil companies had surveyed the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of California, and most notably, the Northern Slope of Alaska. What they discovered was, the US has oil reserves to rival those of the Middle East. Certainly enough to insure our independence of foreign oil for many generations. This seemed to be the logical solution, but Environmentalists stopped it from happening. The election of Jimmy Carter sealed the deal, the Leftist Liberal Tree Huggers had won a major victory!
And Good for us, America! We needed to clean up our act, become more Environmentally conscious, and who needs a bunch of ugly-looking oil rigs all in our Gulf of Mexico or off the coast of California, or even in the isolated remote Moose Country of the Northern Slope? We managed to work out a few deals with a few Arab Sheiks, make a few promises to Kingdoms here and there, pay off the right people in the right places, and we solved our supply problem for the moment. Because of the Tree Huggers, we didn't make the move to build more infrastructure, not even a single new refinery, and through the Reagan/Bush 1 years, we simply found a way to buy our way out of trouble, like always.
During the Clinton years, the issue arose again, in the midst of turmoil in the Middle East, our supply was again running low. We contemplated releasing oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve, we contemplated Conservation, we even contemplated rations again... but the Tree Huggers just wouldn't hear of us contemplating the unthinkable. No, we couldn't drill for new oil in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of California, and especially not in the Moose Habitat of Alaska! And no, we couldn't build any nasty and disgusting new refineries either!
So... Here we are, gas is quickly approaching $5 a gallon. Had we invested in new oil infrastructure in 1977, we would be completely independent of any foreign oil today. Perhaps that phrase doesn't sink in... let me explain what it means to be "completely independent of any foreign oil" ...Gas is $0.78 gallon in Saudi Arabia.
Once again, the subject has come up, and once again, the Tree Huggers stand in the way, obstructing any attempts to tap into our own natural resources. In spite of having absolutely no answers for the immediate future, the Tree Huggers cling to 'Conservation and Exploring Alternative Fuels', as the only acceptable solutions... no more drilling, no more refining.
I am all for Conservation and Exploring Alternative Fuels, don't get me wrong. I think we need to be the leader in such examples, and I support a strong environmental policy as well. I think we should be vigilant in monitoring oil operations to insure our environment is being protected at all times, and our water and air are safe. However, I also think we should have invested in oil infrastructure a long time ago, and each year we put this off, is one more year we will ultimately be at the mercy of others with regard to our supply of oil. If you want to begin to eliminate US involvement in the Arab region, you must understand it starts with reducing our dependence on the one resource we need and they control at the moment. As long as the US is dependent on Saudi oil, we will have to maintain a presence in the region, both commercially and militarily, to protect the commercial interests. I don't mean to sound facetious, but there really is no other alternative, unless you want to try to live in a society which has shut down due to lack of fuel.
God love 'em, I have many Environmentalist friends, and "Tree Hugger" is just my pet name for them, I really do love them and respect their convictions. But for some reason, they can't see the forest for the trees... pun intended. It's great to think that we are technologically advanced enough to develop a clean alternative to the internal-combustion engine, and I think we will see this happen in the next 20 years or less. However, real societal transition to a "new mode" of transportation, is not going to happen in 20 years, the internal-combustion engine has too much of a head start. It is too ingrained into the fabric of our society to expect it to just be replaced in a few years. Do we need to encourage it? Sure! We should even give tax incentives for it! We should do everything we can as a responsible society, to develop and implement a new alternative. Do we need to Conserve? You bet! The more, the better, in my opinion! But... for our immediate future, we need to drill and refine. Oil, gas, and the internal-combustion engine, are not going away tomorrow, and the longer we put this off, the more we are dependent on others for our supply, and the more we are entangled in the affairs of Arab countries, either through financial "bribes" and "payoffs" or military commitment. Not to mention, higher gas prices daily.
It was suggested at that time, that we may need to build more domestic oil infrastructure. American oil companies had surveyed the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of California, and most notably, the Northern Slope of Alaska. What they discovered was, the US has oil reserves to rival those of the Middle East. Certainly enough to insure our independence of foreign oil for many generations. This seemed to be the logical solution, but Environmentalists stopped it from happening. The election of Jimmy Carter sealed the deal, the Leftist Liberal Tree Huggers had won a major victory!
And Good for us, America! We needed to clean up our act, become more Environmentally conscious, and who needs a bunch of ugly-looking oil rigs all in our Gulf of Mexico or off the coast of California, or even in the isolated remote Moose Country of the Northern Slope? We managed to work out a few deals with a few Arab Sheiks, make a few promises to Kingdoms here and there, pay off the right people in the right places, and we solved our supply problem for the moment. Because of the Tree Huggers, we didn't make the move to build more infrastructure, not even a single new refinery, and through the Reagan/Bush 1 years, we simply found a way to buy our way out of trouble, like always.
During the Clinton years, the issue arose again, in the midst of turmoil in the Middle East, our supply was again running low. We contemplated releasing oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve, we contemplated Conservation, we even contemplated rations again... but the Tree Huggers just wouldn't hear of us contemplating the unthinkable. No, we couldn't drill for new oil in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of California, and especially not in the Moose Habitat of Alaska! And no, we couldn't build any nasty and disgusting new refineries either!
So... Here we are, gas is quickly approaching $5 a gallon. Had we invested in new oil infrastructure in 1977, we would be completely independent of any foreign oil today. Perhaps that phrase doesn't sink in... let me explain what it means to be "completely independent of any foreign oil" ...Gas is $0.78 gallon in Saudi Arabia.
Once again, the subject has come up, and once again, the Tree Huggers stand in the way, obstructing any attempts to tap into our own natural resources. In spite of having absolutely no answers for the immediate future, the Tree Huggers cling to 'Conservation and Exploring Alternative Fuels', as the only acceptable solutions... no more drilling, no more refining.
I am all for Conservation and Exploring Alternative Fuels, don't get me wrong. I think we need to be the leader in such examples, and I support a strong environmental policy as well. I think we should be vigilant in monitoring oil operations to insure our environment is being protected at all times, and our water and air are safe. However, I also think we should have invested in oil infrastructure a long time ago, and each year we put this off, is one more year we will ultimately be at the mercy of others with regard to our supply of oil. If you want to begin to eliminate US involvement in the Arab region, you must understand it starts with reducing our dependence on the one resource we need and they control at the moment. As long as the US is dependent on Saudi oil, we will have to maintain a presence in the region, both commercially and militarily, to protect the commercial interests. I don't mean to sound facetious, but there really is no other alternative, unless you want to try to live in a society which has shut down due to lack of fuel.
God love 'em, I have many Environmentalist friends, and "Tree Hugger" is just my pet name for them, I really do love them and respect their convictions. But for some reason, they can't see the forest for the trees... pun intended. It's great to think that we are technologically advanced enough to develop a clean alternative to the internal-combustion engine, and I think we will see this happen in the next 20 years or less. However, real societal transition to a "new mode" of transportation, is not going to happen in 20 years, the internal-combustion engine has too much of a head start. It is too ingrained into the fabric of our society to expect it to just be replaced in a few years. Do we need to encourage it? Sure! We should even give tax incentives for it! We should do everything we can as a responsible society, to develop and implement a new alternative. Do we need to Conserve? You bet! The more, the better, in my opinion! But... for our immediate future, we need to drill and refine. Oil, gas, and the internal-combustion engine, are not going away tomorrow, and the longer we put this off, the more we are dependent on others for our supply, and the more we are entangled in the affairs of Arab countries, either through financial "bribes" and "payoffs" or military commitment. Not to mention, higher gas prices daily.
