At times, we might forget that there are a good number of very bright, extremely dedicated, and fundamental people working in Congress. Elected officials and staff. Our funding system that seems to drive member after member to be begging, tin in cup, for funds can make the entire process look open to purchase. The traditional media mania for ever lower quality reporting magnifies this, making foolish shallowness the norm. Reality is far from this and it is worthwhile at times to take a moment to consider that reality.
An e-mail came into me today that reminded me of this, a letter with perhaps the best single word I’ve seen to summarize Republican truthiness when it comes to energy issues but a letter with substance.
Drillusion
Thank you Representative Earl Blumenauer.
Americans deserve better …
What is the challenge?
After seven years of dangerous energy policies, Oregon families are reeling from the effects of rising gas prices. Americans deserve better than political posturing from an administration that continues to serve up a failed energy policy, and pushing for increased drilling on our public lands is their newest deceitful maneuver.
This is not only a hoax, but pure “drillusion.”
Opening up new public lands to drilling can take anywhere from 10-20 years to produce oil, yet I know you need relief today.
Oil companies already hold leases on 68 million acres of public lands but are NOT drilling. Instead of exercising the opportunities they have, they are trying to accrue additional drilling leases in the Arctic and along our coasts. This is not a solution; this is only a continuation of the same disastrous policies that fail to address our growing crisis.
There are immediate steps we can take to alleviate the impact of rising gas prices. For instance, we can rein in speculators, which add $5 to $50 to the price of a barrel of oil.
We can also reduce the cost of gas by releasing some of the oil stored in our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Currently at 97 percent capacity, the SPR is the largest emergency supply in the world. Three presidents have done this in the past, cutting the cost of oil by as much as a third.
It’s a smart bill. More members of Congress should be seriously discussing such ideas instead of spinning their wheels in a politically motivated debate over more offshore oil drilling. While it’s a long-term debate worth having — more exploration and drilling might help the nation’s future strategic position — as a route to lower fuel prices it goes nowhere. The expanding global economy has ended the era of cheap fuel in America. Today, the cheapest gallon of gas is the gallon you don’t have to buy. Blumenauer’s farsighted bill would help more Americans avoid that painful purchase.
Although there is no silver bullet for solving the complex energy problem, we can take action now to make sure that Oregon’s families receive the assistance they need. Ten to twenty years is far too long to wait for a solution that was needed decades ago, and I will continue working on common sense approaches that will prepare us for an oil-independent future.
“No silver bullet for solving the complex energy problem …” Yes. Earl. You are right.
And, not only “we can take action now,” we must.
Earl is right, we can not wait decades “for a solution that was needed decades ago.”
I, for one, am glad that Earl Blumenauer is representing Oregonians, and the rest of us (the rest of the US), in the US House of Representatives to “continue working on common sense approaches that will prepare us for an oil-independent future.”
7 responses so far ↓
1 Drillusion // Aug 6, 2008 at 9:45 pm
[…] Read the rest of this great post here […]
2 Emerging from cave, some Republican lawmakers find sunshine not to their liking | Get Energy Smart! NOW!!! // Sep 8, 2008 at 3:07 pm
[…] help on the West Front steps fo the US Capitol. While trying to sell the Republican quick silver, Drillusion, the Republicans braved chants […]
3 Taking Deception to Extremes: “Drill Now! Pay Less! Vote GOP!” | Get Energy Smart! NOW!!! // Sep 16, 2008 at 5:59 am
[…] So, at least four major truthiness elements in one sign with six words. Unlikely to be a record in stretching credularity and creating confusion, but this sign is definitely in competition for the most misleading elements with so few words as the Republicans continue to press forward with Drillusion. […]
4 Vote Grand Oil Party! Multi-layered deception coming to a street corner near you - The Seminal :: Independent Media and Politics // Sep 16, 2008 at 1:26 pm
[…] So, at least four major truthiness elements in one sign with six words. Unlikely to be a record in stretching credularity and creating confusion, but this sign is definitely in competition for the most misleading elements with so few words as the Republicans continue to press forward with Drillusion. […]
5 cicpr // Sep 17, 2008 at 8:57 pm
If the oil extracted from U.S. land is sold on the global market, how does that make us here in the Homeland independent from international oil? Or significantly lower the price of gas here in the Homeland once that oil is resold to us and refined in to gas several years down the road?
Unless of course congress mandates that all oil extracted from the Homeland be consumed in the Homeland.
“Oil is a global commodity and is traded globally…”
“Because oil is a global commodity, oil produced from the scant American resources will go into the global market barring an Act of Congress that would trample on the free-market”.
6 McCain DisDain for being truthful: energy / global warming // Oct 7, 2008 at 10:03 pm
[…] is simply drillusion and not fact as McCain continues his campaign’s lies about energy issues.. Dealt with time […]
7 The ABC’s of Blocking the Future // Oct 10, 2008 at 11:55 am
[…] but a major one: the American people remain ‘energy illiterate’ and those pushing drillusion want to keep them ignorant. The We Campaign and others (such as Joe Romm and this blogger) are […]