The biggest problem facing this nation is our dependence on foreign oil. We are held hostage by countries that we must toady to because we need what is under their sand. For a lot of years, this was never an issue. I can remember when you could fill your tank for about $4, and the low cost was not even something you thought about, let alone tried to work into your budget. Today, we spend $700 billion a year on foreign oil. We borrow money from China to pay for it. Every minor saber rattling in the Middle East is a cause for alarm. We consider devastating our wildlife refuges to satisfy our thirst for fossil fuels, and we are now considering offshore drilling, which can only eventually lead to disaster.
To my way of thinking, this has to be one of the most dysfunctional ways of approaching things - that is, unless you are a major oil company. We see record earnings of companies like Exxon-Mobil, yet even though taken to task by Congress, are allowed to easily slide off the hook. In a government run by an oil man, I think you can hardly expect anything else.
Not only is the country struggling with the pain at the pump, but many families are in a world of hurt because they cannot afford gasoline for getting back and forth to work, let alone a family vacation. It often seems like there just isn’t any end to this situation, and people are resigned to the high cost of gasoline.
There isn’t a need for this to be happening. The time has come for change, and a leader who will make it happen. I have read a lot about Al Gore, and his commitment to the ecology. Where I come from, they say if you talk the talk, then you had better walk the walk. Mr. Gore seems a bit lacking in this area, and though the things I read about are minor, they should not be happening with an advocate for the environment. Case in point - at the wedding for his daughter, the menu includes Chilean Sea Bass, which is an endangered species. Chilean sea Bass is a fancy name made up by the advertising agencies for the Patagonian Toothfish. Mr. Gore also has a home that definitely is not friendly to the environment, and all this just kills his credibility to me. On the internet, where I make my living and spend more time than anywhere else, I know that image is everything. Would someone tell this to Mr. Gore, please?
So where, then, do we turn? I haven’t a clue, to be very honest. But I have been watching T. Boone Pickens, and the Pickens Plan. If nothing else, he helps raise awareness, showing that we import 70% of our fossil fuels from foreign sources. The Unites States use 25% of all oil exported in the world. Facts show that 750 out of 1,000 people own an automobile, and to feed that thirst for oil is catastrophic to this country. If we spend $700 billion dollars a year on foreign oil, then consider this - in 10 years we will have spent $7 trillion dollars. And that is dependent on the factor that oil prices will not raise in the next 10 years. What are the chances of that?
I have a problem with an oil man advocating for renewable energy, just because of the nature of the beast. We have come to have a distinct distrust of all things oil related, and for a man who has made a fortune in oil to step to the forefront gives me pause. I am not saying his plan is a bad one - he advocates for air and solar power, and the use of natural gas to fuel the automobiles of this country. It is a resource we have plenty of. Mr. Pickens has invested a lot of money in Texas to build a wind farm, and the entire middle portion of the United States from North Dakota to Texas is one huge airstream. Wind power is a reality, as is solar energy. Where the rest of this will fall into place remains to be seen. I hope Mr. Pickens has good luck with this project. I respect him for taking this stand, and have no issue with what he is attempting. Let’s hope that in the near future, people that make these decisions will listen to Mr. Pickens, and start to lead this country away from our dependence on foreign oil. It is way past time…
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