We need to speak out against our dependency on oil. We need to scare people. I know that fear is a Republican tactic. But people need to be scared. This oil dependency affects our country greatly. Look at the war we are spending billions on?
What if gas prices jump up to $4.00 a gallon? Our economy will not take this well. It will affect many industries.
The new sales pitch for President Bush is that he's a forward-thinking visionary, right? His policies in the Middle East were, it turns out, not about the bloody debacle in Iraq today but about democracy spreading throughout the region in a glorious future. And his plan to fix Social Security is not at all about privatizing the jewel of the New Deal but simply about ensuring a safe and secure system well past 2052.
But when it comes to dealing with the many energy-related crises we're facing, can the Bushies really go on pretending that their policies are any more forward-looking than a rerun of "That '70s Show"?
Exhibit A is the president's bizarre and long-standing obsession with drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which just got Senate approval last week. I mean, how retro can you get? Instead of pushing to increase fuel efficiency standards that could save millions of barrels of oil each day and calling for a national commitment to investing in renewable sources of energy, he's after one more fix of dinosaur byproducts from one of the world's last pristine places.
http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=7978
Bush has focused on renewable energy because his is so tied to the oil industry. We lost the Arctic Refuge because has friends in oil!! This outdated policy of being dependent on oil is severely damaging our country. And the Republicans are unwilling to face the issue.
And our leaders in Washington--their pockets stuffed with oil, gas and auto-industry donations--have been willing accomplices in this financial fiasco. By keeping mileage standards for SUVs lower than for cars, allowing unconscionable fuel efficiency loopholes that exempt monster trucks like the Hummer H2, and giving a special tax break allowing write-offs up to $100,000 on luxury SUVs, they helped create an artificial market for gas guzzlers--and helped lead GM to the corporate ICU.
Bush and company call themselves free marketers, but by indulging Detroit they've discouraged innovation and made it much easier for companies like GM to slowly destroy themselves--and their workers. It's assisted suicide, Beltway-style.
Bush's way is not the only way. The government should force increases in efficiency in cars and electrical equipment, stimulate global oil production, regulate greenhouse gas emissions with a trading system, rapidly expand a new method of burning coal and explore a revival of nuclear power.
But what are we doing? Drilling in the Arctic Refuge. I heard on NPR that we will not get a drop of oil out of there for 10 years. 10 years. The energy crisis is now. I was hoping to have new technology for our cars in 10 years rather than continuing our dependency on oil.
China is expected to pass a law this year to encourage the use of renewable energy, including hydropower, wind power, bio-mass and solar energy. China. Can't we keep up with China? Clearly, not.
Please join me in speaking out against our dependency on oil and our need for alternative fuel sources.