ugh.
once again the republicans are trying to open the alaskan national wildlife refuge for oil drilling.
and once again the news media(even the venerable new york times…)are missing the most salient part of this whole issue.
which is: oil from the anwr wouldn’t reach the domestic market for ten years, and all of the oil in the anwr would last about 5 to 6 months in the u.s, given current rates of consumption.
opening up the anwr is not in anyone’s interest except for the oil companies who have poured so much money into right-wing, republican political campaigns(and who used to employ both bush and cheney).
but why isn’t anyone on the left or in congress or in the senate or in the media reporting on the fact that even if the anwr were opened for drilling tomorrow it would still be ten years until the oil reached market, thus making it absurd to think that opening the anwr will in any way diminish our reliance upon foreign oil.
you want to diminish our reliance upon foreign oil?
here are some ways to start:
1-put an ‘economy’ tax on cars. any car that gets less than 20 mpg should pay an onerous tax.
2-encourage conservation at home and in the workplace.
3-subsidize r&d for alternative energy sources.
4-further develop fuel-cell technology, especially for ‘fixed route’ vehicles(local delivery vehicles, buses, etc).
5-encourage/subsidize americans in adding additional insulation to their homes and replacing old windows.
if all of these things were implemented our reliance upon foreign oil would be greatly diminished. opening up the anwr won’t diminish our reliance upon foreign oil, and will just end up ruining a beautiful and unspoiled area of pristine wilderness.
-moby