“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.” H.L. Mencken
With oil hovering around $140 per barrel, Americans are pointing fingers and pursuing scapegoats. But they need look no further than the nearest mirror. True, Congress has spent the past three decades ducking its responsibility by refusing to implement a sound energy policy. But who keeps sending those same politicians back to Washington every election cycle? In a democracy people usually get the government they deserve.
Thirty-five years ago, after the initial oil shock, voters should have demanded of their politicians that they do two things:
1) Turn a deaf ear to environmentalists and proceed with the construction of nuclear power plants. Nuclear facilities provide clean, reliable energy at competitive prices. France gets 80 percent of its electricity from nukes while boasting a pristine countryside that’s the envy of the world.
For decades environmentalists have massaged science and stooped to fear mongering in order to demonize nuclear power. Today we are witnessing a delicious irony as their hysteria over carbon emissions — born of another fear campaign: global warming — makes a persuasive case for the construction of nuclear power plants.
2) Politicians should have been made to understand that the extraction of domestic oil must be priority number one. The concept is easy to grasp. The more oil we harvest here the less we have to purchase from over there.
Each day the world uses about 86 million barrels of oil while producing less than 87 million. The supply margin is too tight and must be widened. Part of the problem is that 25 years ago China and India consumed little oil. Today they are the world’s fastest growing economies, requiring vast amounts of petroleum.
Admittedly, a six-year Fed policy of devaluing the dollar has also contributed to rising oil prices. But the major problem is one of supply. Increased drilling will augment oil supplies and lessen price strains on global markets. Congress needs to stop blaming “speculators” and oil companies for a situation not of their making.
While commodity traders can magnify a trend they cannot create one. Unfortunately, Congress can. Its draconian restrictions vis-à-vis drilling have served to create an artificial shortage.
Geological surveys indicate that America has more oil reserves offshore, and in its interior, than the combined reserves of Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. But Congress, at the behest of environmentalists, has made it illegal to drill in 85 percent of America’s offshore territory and other promising areas.
Moreover, U.S. oil companies are discovering that their current drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico are not being renewed. As a result, we’re faced with the bizarre spectacle of Cuba drilling a few miles off Florida’s coastline while U.S. companies are prevented from doing so.
It gets worse. Recently, Democrats refused to end the moratorium on oil shale development in Colorado. Geologists estimate that there is more oil in the shale of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming (800 billion barrels) than in the Middle East. But Democrats have made exploration illegal. This is the same Democratically controlled Congress that refuses to allow drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which may hold up to 20 billion barrels of crude.
ANWR is nearly the size of Indiana. Drilling along its coastal plain would be confined to an area smaller than the Indianapolis airport. But that’s too much exploration for environmentalists and their puppets in Congress.
America’s message to the rest of the world might be summed up thus: “We aren’t going to drill in our country due to ecological concerns, but we urge you to continue drilling in yours, so that your efforts might allow us to maintain the lifestyle to which we’ve grown accustom.”
Such hubris is breathtaking. This “not in my backyard!” mentality is why there hasn’t been a new refinery built in the U.S. in over 30 years, even though there are 35 percent more cars on the road today.
A favorite ploy of environmentalists is to point out that there are millions of government acres already allocated for oil leasing, therefore we don’t need to make more land available. But as drillers will tell you, just because the government leases you the land is no guarantee it will grant you a drilling permit. It’s not unusual to wait two or three years only to be denied access.
Another excuse is “safety concerns.” But there hasn’t been a significant spill from an offshore well since 1969. Hurricane Katrina destroyed dozens of drilling rigs without causing a single spill.
The simple truth is that environmentalists abhor oil — viewing it as a major impediment in their quixotic quest to lower some arbitrary carbon emission number. They seek to manufacture a scarcity, which gives government the rationale to ration, which gives them what they really want, i.e., increased government control over our lives.
Europe is their model. Where gas prices range from $7-$11 per gallon and mass transit systems are the norm. Greens are fond of making the point that if Europe’s middle class can cope with $9 per gallon gas, so can ours.
But let’s focus on another continent. Brazil is a country similar in size and population to the U.S. In 2006, Brazilians celebrated their first year of energy independence because Brazilian politicians had the vision (years ago) to implement sound energy policies.
No, I’m not referring to Brazil’s over-hyped ethanol program. Ethanol has proven to be a bust in the U.S. Ethanol-fueled cars are only 70 percent as fuel-efficient as conventional cars and E85 is nearly as costly as regular gas — assuming you can find it. Moreover, America’s corn-based ethanol subsidy is largely responsible for escalating food prices.
Investors Business Daily reports that Brazil’s energy independence is largely the result of increased domestic oil production, much of it offshore. While we dither, as prices soar, Brazil is drilling.
Unlike their Brazilian counterparts, our politicians have opted to keep our oil in the ground and punish us with higher prices as a result. Consider that fact the next time you pull up to the pump … or enter a voting booth.
— Reggie McConnell
Terre Haute
Flashpoint
Flashpoint: Energy independence is well within America’s reach
- Flashpoint
-
-
FLASHPOINT: Graduation rates are up; great news for Indiana
As Hoosiers celebrate the conclusion of a truly remarkable Super Bowl experience, there is even more good news that should fill us with pride.
-
FLASHPOINT: Tech trail leading us into a dense, digital forest
It seems the Southwest Parke schools are the latest to play the laptop lottery game.
-
FLASHPOINT: Republicans enable war on middle class, unions
About six years ago at the pinnacle of the Bush/GOP Dictatorship, I began telling you that the wealthy and Corporate America were laying the ground work to politically, financially and physically take over America.
-
FLASHPOINT: Howey ignores truth to advance his agenda
Brian Howey’s Jan. 8 column about the U.S. Senate race proves once again that he will not allow the facts or journalistic ethics to get in the way of attacking Richard Mourdock and promoting his chosen candidate, Dick Lugar.
-
FLASHPOINT: Putting fairness first
This time of year, with chords of Auld Lang Syne still ringing in our ears, it’s not uncommon or unnatural to think of days gone by as being more desirable than the era we live in today.
-
FLASHPOINT: What really motivates right-to-work proposal?
You may have heard about the upcoming “right-to-work” legislation before our lawmakers in the next session of “law making.”
-
FLASHPOINT: The right-to-work debate: ‘Devil at Our Doorstep’
As the 2012 Indiana Legislative Assembly convenes, January will represent a tipping point for all Hoosiers’ individual freedoms as politicians and Big Labor draw battle lines to determine if Indiana will become the 23rd right-to-work state.
-
FLASHPOINT: State’s House Democrats will offer alternative for job creation
As the leaders of single-party control in state government outline their agendas for the 2012 session of the Indiana General Assembly, it is easy to be cynical about their intentions in the months to come.
-
FLASHPOINT: Community colleges must lead way in reshaping higher education
In the 1970s, I began what was three decades in the automotive industry. ... Today, in my position as president of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, I see higher education confronted with some of these same challenges.
-
FLASHPOINT: There’s little right about ‘right to work’ proposal
The danger contained in these three simple words – “Right to Work” — is that they sound so innocent.
-
FLASHPOINT: The next big movement? Reform Congress
We are living through one of the most remarkable times in recent history.
-
FLASHPOINT: Christmas trees and crony capitalism
I’ve been involved in selling fresh Christmas trees for as long as I can remember.
-
FLASHPOINT: Salute to Rooney and all veterans
When I awoke to the news that CBS’s “60 Minutes” commentator Andy Rooney had passed away I was truly saddened.
-
FLASHPOINT: Corporate welfare for Menards?
As near as I can figure from a recent story in the newspaper, our government representatives, state and local, are scrambling to find money to give to Menards because of a distribution center they are thinking about building on the city’s North Side.
-
FLASHPOINT: State Archives needs permanent, safe home
The records in the Indiana State Archives are priceless, one-of-a-kind treasures not to be found anywhere else.
-
Flashpoint: State Archives needs permanent, safe home
The records in the Indiana State Archives are priceless, one-of-a-kind treasures not to be found anywhere else.
-
FLASHPOINT: Attracting foreign investment involves more than business climate
A week before I left Indiana to lead my fifth international trade mission, I met with students at Speedway High School who had visited Japan two years ago. They were sharing their advice on Japanese protocol.
-
FLASHPOINT: Scoring the Indiana Chamber
It is a question asked routinely — almost reflexively — during the last days of a General Assembly: “Will the Chamber score this?”
-
FLASHPOINT: The growing power of lobbyists
Back in 1982, Mississippi’s powerful U.S. Sen. John C. Stennis faced a tough re-election fight. Advisers told him he had an ace up his sleeve: as chairman of the Armed Service Committee, he could raise bundles of campaign cash from defense contractors. But Stennis balked. “Would that be proper?” he asked. “I hold life and death over these companies.”
-
FLASHPOINT: Fiscal hawks: Speak out on state’s largest publicly funded project
Indiana has a number of fiscal hawks among our elected officials who talk tough about ending subsidies and cutting wasteful projects.
-
FLASHPOINT: A great company will soon disappear from community
This is in reference to the Tribune-Star story of Aug. 6 concerning the Terre Haute Sherwin-Williams plant’s intention to close by end of the year:
-
FLASHPOINT: Collegiate relations committee proposal addresses neighborhood ills
With the beginning of the school year, it is apparent that Terre Haute is a college town in many respects, especially for those who live in the Farrington’s Grove neighborhood, south of downtown.
-
FLASHPOINT: Indiana learning from a founding Hoosier family
The Delph family excursion through southern Indiana over the Labor Day weekend was as memorable as it was enjoyable. Lilly turned 5 and got to spend her birthday at Holiday World riding rides and eating sweets. Abby got to drive Dad around on the pretend cars foretelling our new world order. Emma, Anna and Evelyn further cemented their status as rollercoaster girls dragging Mom and Dad on the Voyage, arguably the most brutal ride of all for parents.
-
Social media makes news more intimate, more disturbing In decade after 9/11
When a student recently asked what was “the hardest story” I had to cover during my 26 years working at CNN, the question caught me off guard.
-
FLASHPOINT: Better access to quality health care can happen
Over 50 million Americans live in areas where there are simply not enough health care providers to meet their basic needs.
-
FLASHPOINT: Seeking understanding from insanity of war
On the evening of Sept. 11, 2001, my family and I gathered to watch the unending news reports and the searing images of our homeland under attack.
-
How to listen to a politician
As summer draws to a close and next year’s political campaigns get down to brass tacks, you’re going to be hearing a lot more from politicians seeking your vote.
-
FLASHPOINT: Congress must help keep American dream within our reach
Since the 2010 mid-term elections, House Speaker John Boehner and his blindly dedicated Republican followers have not introduced a single bill for job creation.
-
FLASHPOINT: Howey’s Aug. 21 column was inaccurate
Elected officials accept public debate.
-
FLASHPOINT: Measles outbreak demonstrates the need for up-to-date vaccinations
Real incidents that engage national, state and local health professionals can be far more fascinating than television investigative dramas and are clearly more important.
- More Flashpoint Headlines
-
FLASHPOINT: Graduation rates are up; great news for Indiana
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Latest Jason Wu Collection Shows Chinese Roots
ShowBiz Minute: Madonna, Beresford-Redman, Pawsc
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Stars Show Support at AMFAR Charity Gala
Snow Strands Italian Towns
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Rough Seas Stop Oil Removal
The Muppets Are Oscars Bound!
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
BCBG Kicks Off NY Fashion Week
Lusetich: AT&T Rd. 3 recap
Whitney Houston's body is removed from hotel
Raw Video: Aurora Borealis As Seen From Space
Whitney's Final Days - EXCLUSIVE
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Absolute Lin-sanity
Madonna's Daughter Shaves Head
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
Funeral to be held for Powell boys
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow
