Drilling Bits

At the behest of our President, it is now before Congress to decide whether or not to lift the ban on offshore drilling -- so that we can take the befouling of our aquatic ecosystems to a whole new level in the name of reducing Americans' pain at the pumps. So what if we'd be eroding wetlands, contaminating the water with chemicals, polluting the air, killing fish, and dumping waste, right?

We want cheap gas, dammit! And as Americans, isn't it our birthright to have every convenience, no matter the cost? "There's no excuse for delay", our GOP President has said (Is GOP the acronym for the Gas and Oil Party?).

Well....have you got three to five years? That's the realistic delay between the start of offshore drilling and the actual delivery of that fuel to the gas pumps. Where are gas prices going to be then? How about spending the next three to five years ramping up the development of alternative fuels? Improving and expanding our public transportation? Anyone?

I've previously made references to Europe on this subject because they're paying more than twice what we are to fill up. In all fairness, however, they were forward-thinking enough to lay the groundwork years ago with more fuel efficient vehicles and better public transportation. We're playing catch-up and we don't like it. We want quick convenient fixes and we expect our government to wave its magic sceptre and make the bad things go away.

It's time to wake up and smell what we're trying to scrape off the bottom of our shoes. The demand for oil will only increase -- especially in the BRIC nations [Brazil, Russia, India, China] -- so we need to decrease our demand as soon as possible. Putting a short to mid-term band aid on the problem that could decrease the urgency to develop alternative fuel sources isn't the answer.

Six dollars a gallon? Bring it on. I'll pay it. I won't like it, but if I know it's temporary and there's an end in sight I'll manage. I'll also be more likely to drive less often, carpool if possible, ride public transportation, walk, and conserve in general.

I'm hoping Congress does the right thing and leaves the ban in place. Our planet shouldn't have to suffer further to pay for our impatience and lack of vision.