Obama comes through with the truth. Again.
How out of touch is Barack Obama? He's so out of touch that he suggested that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and took their cars for regular tune-ups, they could save as much oil as new offshore drilling would produce. Gleeful Republicans have made this their daily talking point; Rush Limbaugh is having a field day; and the Republican National Committee is sending tire gauges labeled "Barack Obama's Energy Plan" to Washington reporters.
But who's really out of touch? The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.
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Of course, in recent years, the Republican Party has been affiliated with the oil industry. It was the oilman Dick Cheney who dismissed conservation as a mere sign of "personal virtue," not a basis for energy policy. It was the oilman George W. Bush who resisted efforts to regulate carbon emissions. And most congressional Republicans have been even more reliable water carriers for the industry's interests.
John McCain has been a notable exception. He is not an oilman; he has pushed to regulate carbon emissions; and he opposed Bush's pork-stuffed energy bill, which Obama supported. He also opposed efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and until recently opposed new offshore drilling. But now that gas prices have spiked, McCain is running for President on a drill-first platform, and polls suggest that most Americans agree with him. It's sad to see his campaign adopting the politics of the tire gauge, promoting the fallacy that Americans are powerless to address their own energy problems. Because the truth is: Yes, we can. We already are.
Yes We Can. And not only can we do this, it really won't cost us a thing in terms of outrageous government subsidies, government funded programs, taxpayer funds being appropriated for education, or anything like that.
And yet, I assume the first reaction from many people would be "But who's really going to do this?"
Answer? Those who are struggling, those who are looking to both shave costs off their bottom line, save some extra cash for food, rent and debts, and those who want to actually be a part of making change in this country. Personally, I think if more people took the advice Obama just laid out off the cuff and educated themselves more on ways to conserve energy and be more efficient, that would be an outstanding form of patriotism as we would be doing something good not only for ourselves and the environment, but also for the country in leading it towards a better path of energy independence and less reliance on foreign oil, that buzz phrase of the moment.
And I'm surprised more Republicans aren't jumping on board with Obama on this one. After all, aren't they the party of personal responsibility? How better would an example of personal responsibility be if we made a concerted effort to get people to give something back to their country after all these years of their country giving to them by working together to make a difference?
It's really not that hard....