Answer To Energy Is 'All Of The Above'

IBD Editorials ^ | July 14, 2008 | Adam Putnam

[Kaslin]

Watching Democrat leaders in Washington respond to skyrocketing gas prices has been nothing short of a tutorial on the five stages of grief.

Weeks of conspicuous silence (denial). Lashing out at the oil companies, the White House, the markets, the oil companies again (anger). Repeated pronouncements that prices would stabilize at one point or another in the not-too-distant future (bargaining). The long faces trying to explain away their failure to pass a single energy bill that creates energy (depression).

Sen. Barack Obama topped it all off by saying he had hoped the rise in gas prices would have been a "gradual adjustment" so American families could adapt to the reality of four-buck gasoline. Acceptance.

For Obama, there is some cathartic value in paying four bucks for a gallon of gasoline. Tell that to the independent trucker paying $1,500 to fill up, or the school districts eliminating bus stops — or entire routes, for that matter. Tell that to the family that didn't have the resources to carry out its travel plans over July Fourth.

On this issue, Washington isn't just broken — it's AWOL. Roadblocks to reform efforts have been reinforced by shopworn rhetoric and retread initiatives. Real initiatives have been supplanted by a mealy-mouth hodgepodge of supposed cure-alls, one more ineffectual than the next:

[eleni121]

More like the five stages of succumbing to our enemies.

[learner]

I have been a subscriber to the WSJ for over 30 years, but I am thinking of changing to these guys. They certainly can hit the correct spots on their editorial page. The Wsj does sometimes but not as stridently as these people do.

[Cobra64]

I have been a subscriber to the WSJ for over 30 years, but I am thinking of changing to these guys.

I stopped my subscrption a few years after Vermont Royster left.

[RC2]

Can’t you see Congress in charge of milk, water, air? I think we would all be dead. When their approval rate reaches 5% a freeze on Congress should be put in place and all salaries frozen until further notice. Then force a new election and put in people that care about this country.

[xzins]

Real initiatives have been supplanted by a mealy-mouth hodgepodge of supposed cure-alls, one more ineffectual than the next:

Since this is about affecting current gasoline prices, we need to ask "How will this bring down the price of gasoline in the next year?"

If it won't, then the politician just dodged the question.

[mouse1]

Flood congress tomorrow July 15th

Let them know how you feel

having trouble posting link, but if you need to find your congressman or Pelosi

www.visi.com/juan/congress

[Calamari]

Close the EPA.
Repeal the Endangered Species Act
Drill any place there is oil.
Build refineries.
Refine only one formulation of gasoline for each grade nation wide.
Build coal fired electric power plants.
Build nuclear powered electric power plants.

Drill Here Drill Now!

[bigbob]

The solution to the energy issue is to encourage R&D that will lead to new ways of converting and delivering it. Boil it down and whether it’s dead dinosaurs or the Energizer Bunny, the root of all energy on the planet is the Sun, and there’s a virtually unlimited supply beamed to us 24/7. What we need are more efficient ways to convert the energy of the sun the to form we’d like to use.

[autumnraine]

Yeah, how do they explain not one single energy bill in two year of a majority?

[dila813]

We will not accept it, McCain has to have some good line when Obama says that drilling won’t lower the price of gas at the pump.

Like, ask the question back to him, “Do you really believe that? or is that what your special interest groups told you to say?”

[ROTB]

Close the EPA.
Repeal the Endangered Species Act
Drill any place there is oil.
Build refineries.
Refine only one formulation of gasoline for each grade nation wide.
Build coal fired electric power plants.
Build nuclear powered electric power plants.

Drill Here Drill Now!

***********************

Yes! Also ...

1) Stack freeways (reduces demand)
2) Build bikeways over all major streets and highways (reduces demand)

We will definitely need the electricity when fully electric/solar powered cars become commonplace in 10 years.

Or maybe not because people will charge their cars during off-peak hours.

[Rembrandt]

“..When their approval rate reaches 5%..”
—
Let’s review their approval rate on 8/1 - they may have hit your benchmark.

[Impy]

Abolish the gas tax at once.

[blondee123]

Here is the reply I got from Illinois' Dick Turban!

 

 

 

July 10, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Mrs. S:

 

Thank you for contacting me about increasing domestic energy production. I appreciate hearing from you.

 

Record high fuel prices have sparked increased interest in opening additional areas in the outer continental shelf (OCS) and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas leasing. I share your interest in addressing our nation's energy needs and support safe and environmentally responsible oil production. But I also recognize that an energy policy based primarily on drilling will not meet the needs of American consumers.

 

Large areas of our onshore and offshore oil and gas reserves already have been made available for leasing and development, yet prices remain at unprecedented levels. The Minerals Management Service estimates that 79 percent of recoverable offshore oil and 82 percent of offshore natural gas is already open to drilling. Onshore, the numbers tell a similar story. Roughly 72 percent of oil and 84 percent of natural gas resources are leased or open for exploration pending the completion of land-use planning or environmental reviews. The oil companies continue to demand the right to drill on federal lands and on our coastline, but they are failing to produce on lands currently under lease.

 

According to the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration providing increased OCS access in the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic oil and gas prices before 2030. An analysis released by the Energy Department in May 2008 projected that at peak production oil from ANWR could reduce the price per barrel of oil by $0.40 to $1.44 on the global market, an amount equal to one percent or less of the price of crude oil. This would amount to a savings of just a few pennies per gallon for consumers. We cannot drill our way out of our energy troubles

 

It would be at least 20 years after opening ANWR before oil production reaches its peak of 750,000 barrels per day. In comparison, the fuel economy standards passed by Congress in last year's energy bill are expected to save between 2 million and 2.5 million barrels of oil per day by 2025.

 

Others in the oil industry blame short supplies on federal refinery laws. However, the industry itself reduced its refinery operations and capacity over the past decade, closing many competitive, independent refineries. Meanwhile, domestic utilization of operable refinery capacity is lower than it has been in years, averaging just over 85 percent during the first four months of 2008.

 

I am deeply concerned about the effects of high fuel prices on Illinois residents. Increases in energy costs affect consumers in countless ways. High prices at the pump drive up food prices and further deplete the savings of consumers who in many cases are struggling just to pay for the necessities of life.

 

Several factors continue to put significant pressure on gasoline prices. Since the price of oil is quoted in dollars, a weak U.S. dollar has triggered a rise in world crude oil prices. Increased world demand for crude oil and lasting concerns about the threat of supply disruptions have contributed to an increasingly volatile market.

 

Many experts have suggested that today's high fuel prices cannot be fully explained by the market interplay between supply and demand. Excessive speculation and manipulation in energy commodity markets may be a significant factor in higher prices, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) does not have the resources or the authority to fully address this risk.

 

For this reason, I introduced the Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Oil Prices Act of 2008 (S. 3130). My legislation would promote greater transparency in the trading of energy commodities and provide the CFTC with increased resources so that it can better monitor energy markets and prevent traders from engaging in price manipulation and excessive speculation.

I will keep your thoughts in mind as I continue to work for legislation to set our country on a path toward a more stable energy supply and a more secure energy future.

 

Thank you again for writing. Please feel free to keep in touch.

 

 

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin

United States Senator

RJD/ec

 

[blondee123]

Flood congress tomorrow July 15th Let them know how you feel having trouble posting link, but if you need to find your congressman or Pelosi www.visi.com/juan/congress

The problem is, their stock & trade answer is "it's not going to help now to drill"! Well, when do we start, do we keep saying since it won't help immediately, we just don't do it?

It's all double-talk by the politicians. If they had drilled 10 years ago, it would have helped now! What a LAME excuse! And, if the Clintongue admin hadn't denied new refineries we'd have enough of them too.

[SeafoodGumbo]

If I hear the libs, or T. Boone Pickens, say "We can't drill our way out of the problem" one more time, I think my head is going to melt.

[sport]

Do you believe any of what he said?

The Democrats believe that if we have another depression they can take control of the government.

This is why they are doing everything in their power to ensure we have one.

But the good ole American voter gave them control of both Houses of Congress in 2006. So I suppose we are getting what we deserved.

[steveab]

I can think of $700,000,000,000,00 PER YEAR transfer of wealth why we should drill here, drill now.
That a lot of jobs and tax base money going to other nations.