What has been discussed lately is what to do about oil. We keep finding ourselves in bed with strange fellows due to our high demand for oil. One thing we did during the 1970’s was enact legislation to increase fuel efficiency in automobiles. That’s helped, until the fashion became gas gulping SUV’s. These trucks don’t have the same gas mileage requirements, and eat fuel like there is no tomorrow. Unfortunately there is.
So yes, we could put more legislation into lowering the gas mileage for ALL vehicles. That helps. But another solution recently discussed has been finding more oil, on more friendly soil.
Back into discussion is the possibility of drilling for oil in the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I don’t understand why we preserve our land against development, then decide that we didn’t really mean forever – just until we need the natural resources.
Drilling in the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is not just morally wrong, it is also stupid. There just isn’t enough oil there to make it really worth it. According to the Sierra Club’s web site “The most optimistic estimates of commercially recoverable oil from the coastal plain would yield only about six months’ worth of oil for the U.S. -- not even a dent in our dependence on foreign oil.” (See Crude Behavior for more information.) Also, it isn’t just animals we are protecting in the refuge, native people live there too. It is their home, their life.
I would like to see real money go towards research and development of alternative energy sources. The last few years Congress has been cutting funding, and with the current administration being buddies with the oil companies, the future doesn’t look too hopeful. Despite that, we need to push. For every dollar spent on research and development, consumers will save around $70. That’s a lot of money saved! And we could still save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but most importantly we could save the air!
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