BCT Editorial – 5/16/07

This page was last updated on May 16, 2007.

Hooked; Editorial; Beaver County Times; May 16, 2007.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“The United States can’t use drilling to break its addiction to foreign oil.”

[RWC] It’s not a Times energy editorial without this inane comment. No one believes the opposite.

“That’s why the thinking behind the Interior Department’s recent announcement of a major expansion of offshore oil and gas development with proposed lease sales covering 48 million new acres off Alaska, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and in the central Atlantic off Virginia is deeply flawed.

“The Associated Press reported the fate of the East Coast expansion of drilling - a long-standing drilling moratorium has covered most ocean waters outside the western Gulf of Mexico for decades - is uncertain because it would require approval by the Democratic-controlled Congress.

“If the United States is to decrease its dependence on imported oil, more domestic production would be a key component.”

[RWC] Have I been misreading editorials, or does this statement reflect a change in position? As I’ve noted in previous critiques, over the last couple of years we’ve been treated to at least five editorials (“Drop in the bucket,” “Oil wrong,” “Dead end,” “Tapped out #1,” and “Tapped out #2”) lobbying against domestic exploration for and production of oil and natural gas supply.

“However, expanded domestic production would do no good if Americans don’t get serious about energy conservation.”

[RWC] Of course “expanded production” would help regardless of whether we become more energy efficient.

“One way to get these changes through Congress would be to link expansion with mandatory conservation goals. Doing so would be painful, but that’s always the case when addicts attempt to break their dependency on whatever substance they are hooked on.”

[RWC] How about this conservation measure? We require all print media to switch completely to electronic distribution. That would save all the energy required to grow and cut trees, to turn trees into paper, to print the magazine/paper, and to deliver the paper/magazine. “Doing so would be painful, but that’s always the case when addicts attempt to break their dependency on whatever substance they are hooked on.” <g>

Note how liberals always focus on conservation instead of looking to increase energy supply, regardless of its source (coal, hydro, nuclear, wind, et cetera).

Don’t get me wrong. As an engineer, it’s in my genes to seek the most efficient use of any resource. At the same time, we need to remember the U.S. is not an island isolated from the rest of the world. As a result, if we unilaterally impose energy costs on our economy not also experienced by our competitors around the world, our economy would suffer and that would have a direct impact on our quality of life and national security.