Candace

Talmadge

Read Candace's bio and previous columns

June 16, 2008

Choking on the Consequences of Petroleum Denial

“Everybody sooner or later, sits down to a banquet of consequences.” – Robert Louis Stevenson 

We had our first warning back in 1973. Our second notice arrived in 1979. Gasoline grew scarce and the price soared. Inflation roared while the U.S. economy fizzled. 

Both times, however, gas became readily available again after a few months and we learned to live with new price levels. We ultimately ignored the relatively mild warnings and went on about business as usual. We even turned our backs on the fuel-efficient vehicles that were popular for a time in favor of gas hogs that made us ever more dependent on foreign fuel sources. 

Now we are feasting (choking, more accurately) on the consequences of our national refusal, some three-plus decades ago, to start developing workable alternatives to petroleum. The price of oil recently zoomed past $135.00 per barrel with no long-term end to the run-up in sight. The U.S. Energy Department told Congress last week that gasoline prices will rise to $4.15 per gallon by August and not decline much after that. 

One tank of gas now costs so much that many families cut out necessities to be able to run their cars or trucks. Eat or freeze? That may well be the no-win question for many middle-class Americans this winter, let alone the poor who always engage in the cold-season dance of death. 

Cheap petroleum underlies the world as we Americans know it. We designed our transport system, and with it our cities, suburbs and exurbs, based on gas widely available and cheap enough for most individuals to own one or more cars or trucks. Thus the soaring cost of fuel threatens our entire way of life. What do we do now? 

In this presidential election year, we stand at that proverbial fork in the road of how we respond to this existential crisis. We face tough questions and decisions as a nation and as individuals, and we had best start thinking about them before we mark our ballots this November. 

One choice: Do we open up areas like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling? Even if we start today, we won’t reap the benefits for at least a decade. And if we simply keep looking for oil and oil reserves, will we stop searching for oil alternatives? That is short-sighted, because it simply puts off the inevitable, just as we did the last times around. Delay hasn’t served us very well in the long run. 

Another choice: Do we maintain our current foreign policy of invading nations with huge oil reserves with the covert aim of coercing them into signing production agreements highly favorable to U.S. multinational oil companies? That is the most succinct and accurate summary of the situation in Iraq and the true motivation for taking out its former despot, Saddam Hussein. The current administration keeps making noises about invading Iran – another oil-rich nation – as does the Republican presidential candidate. 

Could the invasion of Iraq, in fact, be one of the factors driving the run-up in the cost of oil? Will we continue to base our foreign policy on the market needs of major corporations? We the people are paying for this misbegotten adventure coming and going. Thousands of dead and wounded troops, billions in tax dollars wasted and/or stolen by various U.S. and Iraqi war contractors, and the price of oil is far higher than justified even by market fundamentals of supply and demand.  

Are we so desperate for oil that we are willing to continue this folly? In the short term, that answer may be a resounding yes. In the long run, however, we have the ability to answer differently. We can decide, as a nation, to be much smarter about our energy choices. Call it the holistic approach. Get serious about energy and water conservation with a blend of private initiatives and government mandates. Get serious about alternative sources of fuel that don’t put a strain on agriculture, such as landfills. Get serious about designing, building and retrofitting housing to use far less fuel and water and still be comfortable and easy on the eyes. 

We just have to decide that energy intelligence is our national priority and get serious about becoming truly energy-savvy. 

Of course, it’s far more likely we will simply start pointing fingers of blame and do nothing at all except wallow in our present misery. If so, we should at least stand in front of the mirror so we are aiming our digits at the right targets.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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