Bush needs to revisit Alaska plans.
It would seem that George Bush is pushing congress to open up protected areas of Alaska to Oil exploration and drilling.
This is his response to soaring fuel prices. He is being opposed by some congressmen but whether they will be able to continue to block him, under mounting pressure from motorists and the transport industry, remains to be seen.
Now I am not immune to the rising prices of fuel myself. I do drive and I do have to put fuel in my car but I fail to see the logic in Bush’s push unless oil supplies are dwindling faster than we have been led to believe.
I might have missed something but oil exploration now to reduce fuel prices doesn’t make any sense. Firstly there is the question of how long before that oil –if they find any- actually becomes available. Then will it make a difference to any oil deficit that the Western world has at present – I doubt it.
Furthermore there are now many alternative fuel sources that could benefit from more state and media attention. Surely this would be a wiser and more long term view than risking further environmental damage so that we can fuel up for cheaper for longer.
I like the convenience of my motorcycle and car over public transport and I would hope that in the world of the future I can still use some form of either. But I do not advocate the destruction of further tracts of land just so that I can buy cheaper fuel. It’s high time motorists and the transport industry started pushing governments to put more emphasis on the development of alternative fuelled vehicles and subsidising their commercial production.
The issue is probably too long and convoluted for us to address properly in the limited realms of a short blog but if we don’t change our thinking AND our habits we are not going to impact the environment positively. My only wish is that our leaders would start leading our thinking.
Tags: Alaska, Alternative Energy, bio fuels, Bush, congress, earth, Environment, George Bush, green issues, Money, motor, Oil, Oil price, politics, Renewable energy, Solar, transport
May 7, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Unfortunately it’s an automatic reaction, and hard to resist when rising prices suddenly make more local sources of oil commercially viable. It’s the natural instinct of governments to start investing at home when the international markets are destabilised. Hardly surprising for a Texan with serious interests in oil, either!
So you’re right, we need a complete paradigm shift away from fossil fuels. If the right people get behind it, maybe rising oil prices will turn out to be just the catalyst needed.
May 7, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Oil exploration won’t help fuel costs right now. But it might help us in the future. Being from Alaska I think it is ridiculous we aren’t trying to use our own resources that we know we have. We also have oil being produced right now in the state and we have some of the highest costs in the nation for gas. Yesterday it was $3.86 a gallon for regular and $4.44 for diesel…but it was supposed to go up even more from what the news said.
As far as destruction of land…it’s kept pretty pristine up there. You need to see it in person to see how it is actually being handled. I haven’t been on the north slope myself but my husband has different times and says it is quite impressive and he hasn’t seen such diliginence anywhere else.
We are looking into solar panels and currently heat our home & hotwater with only wood. Everyone needs to start making changes for the greater good.
June 10, 2008 at 1:10 pm
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