Off Shore Drilling and Consumerism

Look, the bottom line is that any off shore drilling isn't going to make any bit of difference in the current gas price debacle. It won't even impact the prices in the near future. There is one argument worth hearing with regard to off shore drilling. If the time comes where we should need it, starting now would ensure that there is an infrastructure in place ready to go at it. A lot is required to set up before any drilling actually begins.

I'm not big on oil tycoons. Personally I think they're a bunch of crooked SOB's just like any other major company has. I heard T. Boone Pickens on BBC America the other day and he actually sounded more on the level than the piece of crap CEO that showed up on Larry King Live to answer questions. Pickens is on the track towards alternative fuels. It's about time the rest of the oil industry jumped aboard. Like he said, we've been drifting far too long on oil alone.

Now let's play some hypotheticals for a brief moment. I heard someone the other day ask why the democrats are against off shore drilling. It goes without saying that the person in question is a staunch conservative, but I'll mention it anyway so it's perfectly clear that we are talking about someone who thinks in terms of black and white (simplistic as I've stated before in my blog). Let's say we could start drilling tomorrow. Lots of oil, right? How would that drive prices down? Demand would stay the same or go up. We as consumers would hear that there's oil out there and we'd toss out the thoughts on conservation in a heartbeat. We'd drive and then we'd drive some more. Guzzle guzzgle guzzle. Prices would definitely not fall. The current democrats understand that. Bush Sr. understood that and he's a republican. It's not a partisan issue, but I see many love to make it one. It is just another way to play politics and avoid any serious discussion.

Pickens agrees that the way this market works is that demand goes up, prices soon follow, leading to penny pinching and decreased demand, and in turn a drop in prices. Once the price drops, the consumer is going to start buying again which will drive demand up one more time. It's a cycle we need to get out of.

We've learned that biofuel botched things up. The stuff drove the price of corn up. I'm sure big time farmers don't mind that, but it still doesn't help the situation. We've made the produce market suffer as a result. Add that to already high fuel costs and the produce industry will be in a world of hurt with the rest of us.

We're going to have to start making sacrifices my fellow Americans. If you're living outside of your means, don't just cut back just a little. Cut back a lot. You're going to get hammered in the months and years to come if you don't start sacrificing some of your toys. NASCAR would be a great group to lead and set an example. Imagine giving up or completely redesigning your trade as a NASCAR driver to stand up for alternative energy and fuel conservation. They won't do that of course. Fuel costs are going to get them anyway. Better be realistic sooner than later. Ignoring it won't make life any better. Still, they'd be a great group to stand up and get the right wing rednecks thinking about responsible energy plans in this country.

Right now, I think most Americans would rather bitch about it than do anything that might change the way they consume everything within an arms reach. It's a real shame, isn't it? I know people are going to scoff at the idea, but we should have listened to Carter when we had the chance. Eventually, you're going to have to come around to the idea that we cannot drill our way out of this.

Some people like to say Bush has been telling us we need to break our dependency on foreign oil over the last five or six years. No. He hasn't. He's said it publicly over the last year and a half or so and that's only because of his drop in approval ratings. He has no intention of breaking our dependency on foreign oil. He'll say anything to make himself look good in the eyes of his base, but he won't put his money where his mouth is when the rest of America (roughly 70%) needs him to. The dems don't have a true majority in Congress, so you can't bring up checks & balances. The so called majority is so narrow you'd be lucky to get a piece of paper to slide between them. Let's face it. Bush is an oil man. His family is tied to the Saudis and let's not forget Texas. The reality is he's saying one thing and doing another. That's been how he ran both of his campaigns. It's how his administration has behaved. It's how the current conservative movement behaves. The dems may be doing things half assed and cowardly, but at least they aren't two faced. Don't you ever put W in a good light with regard to dependency on foreign oil. It's a sure sign that you've been suckered by a two faced liar. Yeah I know you don't like to admit you've been suckered, but you might as well man up and take your licks for your naive thoughts. His drill off shore and drill Alaska plans are just fluff statements for the public to hear so he doesn't have to come up with any original plan. He can sit back and let us argue over whether or not we should. Hold his ass accountable and quit kissing it.