Posted on 07/18/2008 10:49:41 AM PDT by Kaslin
One day Americans are moaning about the harmful impact of cheap oil and the next they're grousing about the harmful impact of expensive oil.
Which one is it?
As a disreputable sort, I freely confess to having a fondness for oil. Actually, I have a mild crush on all carbon-emitting fuels that feed our prosperity. But I'm especially fond of cheap oil. For many years, those who spread apocalyptic global-warming scenarios have warned me that a collective national sacrifice was needed to save the world.
One option, we were told, was to make gas artificially expensive, forcing our ignorant, energy-gobbling neighbors to alter their destructive habits.
Well, here we are. At $4 a gallon for gas, we already have a flailing economy. Isn't it glorious? And isn't it exactly what many environmentalists desired?
The problem is that there is no feasible "alternative" fuel that can haul food from farms to cities, produce affordable electricity for your plasma TV and drive your kids to school. Not yet. It can happen, of course, but only (to pinch a word from enlightened grocery shoppers) organically.
The problem is that when "green" fantasies crash onto the shores of economic reality (as they did with corn-based ethanol), we all suffer.
Don't worry, though, congressional Democrats have a bold plan. Hold on for 10 or 15 years and they'll have a bounty of energy options. They promise. But no oil shale. No clean coal. No nuclear power. And definitely no more oil.
They will not enable your revolting, inefficient lifestyle. In the short-term, offshore drilling, especially, is a pie-in-the-sky fairy tale. Unlike, say, pond scum and hydrogen fuel packs.
On the bright side, it seems that reality is beginning to overtake fantasy. This week, Newt Gingrich's American Solutions for Winning the Future group delivered 1.3 million signatures to Congress, demanding that Washington allow more drilling. A recent Zogby International polls shows 74 percent of likely voters support offshore drilling in U.S. coastal waters, and 59 percent favor drilling for oil in the tundra of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
There are few issues in America that offer this kind of impressive "unity." But apparently when unity doesn't align with left-wing orthodoxy, we need more "leadership" to explain why we're wrong.
Presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama called offshore drilling a "gimmick." According to other Democrats, prices would not be affected for five years and oil companies probably would not use the leases anyway.
If oil giants won't dig, it surely can't hurt to allow leasing. Who knows? They may.
As for waiting? Well, rest assured an increase in domestic oil supply will involve a lot less waiting than the emergence of switchgrass as a viable alternative.
More importantly, oil is a traded commodity and, as everyone knows, the price can fluctuate for a number of reasons beyond supply.
Take President Bush's ceremonial lifting of the moratorium on offshore drilling this week. By happenstance, I guess, within the next three days the price of oil per barrel had fallen more than $15 — the largest such drop in five years.
So why can't Americans look forward to more domestic oil? Well, because carbon is bad for you. Because countless Democrats believe that high prices will help wean us off this terrible addiction.
For many, environmental concerns outweigh the economic well-being of citizens. For some, the migratory paths of caribou trump your selfish habit of heating and cooling your home.
No, drilling isn't "the answer." Yet, the potential positives from increasing domestic supply outweigh any concerns of the opposition. Certainly any they can talk about in public.
The drilling bottleneck in Washington illustrates why socialism doesn’t work. It seems pretty obvious that politicians can’t make economic decisions effectively.
Wins the prize for cleverest headline of the day.... Never thought I’d see a connection made between energy / oil industry and a Russ Meyer film. I guess if a man lives long enough, he’ll see/hear everything.
This country has been wounded and is bleeding to death. The best that the "New Direction" 'RATS can come up with is, "Don't worry about! Leave it alone and it will heal itself."
If we could solve our energy needs with the hot air and bullsh*t coming out of Washington, we’d be set. Don’t laugh; it’s just as likely as the magic pixie dust the dems are spraying on “alternative energy sources.”
LOL.....Puss-e-cRats want to kill, kill us instead!
It’s Bushs fault right? Let the magic negro fix the problem. Yeah Right!!! By time he would have a plan, billary will be running against him, and she wont make the same mistakes twice. Then we’ll have to wait 4 years for her plan, and it will probably be as good as her overhauling healthcare program 16 years ago was.
Dang, ya beat me to it.
"Faster, Pussycat, Kill, Kill!"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059170/
I enjoyed the headline too, even if I did feet a slight frisson of embarrassment at having recognized it from watching (ogling?) Russ Meyer's works over the years. I'd be a "boob" not to. ;-)
You can’t power the U.S. economy on Democrat snake oil.
Thankfully an honest scientist has thoroughly debunked the whole CO2/Global Warming hoax.
“Don’t worry, though, congressional Democrats have a bold plan. Hold on for 10 or 15 years and they’ll have a bounty of energy options. They promise. But no oil shale. No clean coal. No nuclear power. And definitely no more oil.
“They will not enable your revolting, inefficient lifestyle. In the short-term, offshore drilling, especially, is a pie-in-the-sky fairy tale. Unlike, say, pond scum and hydrogen fuel packs. “
-—<>-—<>-—<>-—<>-—<>-—
The Demodogs and the “intelligensia” have desired these high gas prices for decades now. algore is positively ecstatic about these prices.
THIS IS THE DEMOCRATS DOING - FAIR AND SQUARE
THEY WANTED IT. THEY GOT IT.
YOU ARE PAYING FOR IT.
We’ve had enough!
Time to END the Demodog’s reign over our economy ... NOW.
Nice article. This whole topic provides an example that liberals like any policy - provided that it’s mandatory.
They would be happy to raise the price of gasoline through taxes (mandatory). They’ve said NO to off-shore drilling and oil from ANWR, and to new or expanded refineries. NO is mandatory. All these NOs restrict supply and increase price.
They’ve been happy in the past to control the price of gasoline and domestic crude to reduce price. Of course this had the “unintended consequence” of producing shortages. (Politicians who don’t understand economics often face “unintended consequences.” Unintended consequences is a corollary to “I don’t know WTF I’m doing.)
They are happy to mandate increased prices, and happy to mandate decreased prices. The important thing is that they be in charge.
Uh, not real Americans....
The Democrats have a bold plan, alright — for the destruction of the United States of America.
Let’s fix that tagline.
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