Politicians face tough choices

The News Virginian
Published: May 3, 2008

Beyond the swell of prices at local gas pumps surges untapped sanity and increased independence in the form of domestic crude. In the quantity of 30 billion barrels, the black stuff pulses beneath the surface on both coasts and in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. No matter. Her sense of logic bound in knots by environmentalists, America does not venture there, but instead bows east toward OPEC.
The results of that practice are known and predictable: OPEC has doubled the price of oil, from $60 to $120 a barrel since October 2006. Gas prices are climbing toward $4 a gallon. To fill up an average fuel tank at that price would cost at least $60. That does not include state and federal fuel taxes — and, naturally, there is talk in both capitals of increasing these levies. Nor does it take into account the effect of the devalued dollar, which the Fed has ignored while lowering the interest rate to 2 percent.
Environmentalists tell us the current crisis is the product of America’s gluttonous appetite for energy. Soaring worldwide demand is an obvious factor. Reducing it would decrease the strain on global production. Better automobile fuel efficiency also could help (federal lawmakers approved heightened standards last year).
But these measures are not sufficient to counterbalance America’s growing dependence on foreign oil. The United States now imports 60 percent of its oil, and that ratio is expected to jump to more than two-thirds by 2025. In the early 1970s, U.S. oil imports were slightly more than a third. See the problem?
Alternatives are an answer only as a punchline. President Bush’s push for increased ethanol production has resulted in spiraling food and grain prices, and the grudging acknowledgement of ethanol’s proponents that there simply aren’t enough fields to meet demand.
Exploring the extent of our own supply and then tapping it equates to the end of madness.
American acquiescence to the illogic of environmentalists has left us beholden to Arab oil cartels, and to wail about oil companies’ profits while legislatively prohibiting investment in cultivating our own oil resources.
Were a true leader to be found in the presidential race or in Congress, he or she would be the one to brave the political storms and pursue the oil that abounds on our shores and within them.
Tuesday’s election will be welcomed to a man by the six candidates vying for two open seats on the City Council. This is so not solely because of the anticipation of the results, but because of the fatigue that accompanies the relentless race to win votes. After victory await the demands of office. No wonder so many candidates told us they would feel a sense of elation no matter the outcome. Politicians take their lumps in this corner, but those who pursue local office are commended for their willingness to serve in a position that offers little glamour but plenty of headaches. Voters could best show their gratitude Tuesday by turning out in waves, so that candidates and the community alike can glean from the tallies not only winners and losers but a true sense of the full electorate.