In January’s State of the Union address, George Bush admitted America is addicted to oil. Little did we know how prophetically his words would play out in the months that followed. According to the Department of Energy, the average price of gas in the U.S. the week of Mr. Bush’s speech was $2.33 a gallon. Just before the Labor Day holiday, the average price of gas “dropped” 17 cents a gallon to $2.84.
Not long after Mr. Bush’s declaration of oil addiction, scientists told us 2005 was the warmest year on record, surpassing the standard set in 1998. The record may not hold long, as 2006 is looking to be warmer still. Data from NASA and European satellites indicate the Greenland ice cap is melting – a prime factor in rising sea levels – at a rate three times as fast as in recent years. Not to be outdone in the multiplication department, a study published today in the journal Nature reports that the Siberian permafrost is melting five times faster than was previously thought, releasing tons of carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere.
Our domestic supply –stash, perhaps – of oil from the North Slope of Alaska was reduced last month because BP executives didn’t bother to invest in basic infrastructure for their operations in that most fragile environment. North Slope managers, under pressure from corporate to keep costs down – even after repeated warnings from regulators – neglected maintenance to the point where August’s pipeline failure is now blamed on “microbe dung.”
Today, BP’s Richard Woollam, the guy who was supposed to keep the pipe from leaking, refused to testify before Congress, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Meanwhile, the oil companies, the pushers in this analogy of addiction, are stumping to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to more drilling, asking Americans to trust them because they have such a good record. (Did I mention that all but two miles of the Alaska pipeline’s 800-mile length is over permafrost, the stuff that’s melting five times faster than we thought?)
The North Slope mismanagement was just one of BP’s problems, but it ignited festering anger over gas prices among consumers and shined light on BP business practices. The company has been charged with manipulating the price of propane and is being investigated for doing the same with gasoline. News stories remind us BP operates the dirtiest single industrial facility in the U.S. (its refinery at Texas City, TX), where 15 workers were killed and hundreds injured last year in an explosion still under investigation. The $100 million public relations campaign, designed to recast BP’s image from “biggest polluter” to “beyond petroleum” is in tatters.
Thuggish to be sure, but not unexpected behavior from a pusher who has an addict in his thrall. Scrutinize other oil companies as closely and you’ll see a similar track record.
Members of Congress, feeling the pressure of re-election season, have scheduled another hearing in the House and one in the Senate on the North Slope debacle. Investigation is fine, holding corporations accountable would be better, but what’s truly needed is action to break America’s addiction.
First we need to reduce the dose of the drug. Congress should institute higher gas mileage standards for cars sold in America, forcing the deluded and nearly bankrupt automakers to produce the vehicles Americans really want and need. We cannot drill our way to energy security; we can only get there through conservation and efficiency. Those are not personal virtues, Dick Cheney – they’re national imperatives that will support our troops in the most meaningful way possible.
Second, we have to charge oil companies full royalties for all oil and gas extracted from public land and then collect windfall tax on excessive corporate profits. The money raised from those sources must be applied to subsidizing the conservation and efficiency measures mentioned above.
Primaries will be held in many states next week. If you have an incumbent – of either party – running in your district, ask him or her what she or he did to stem the rise in the price of gas, to promote renewable energy, to decrease the emission of greenhouse gases. Use the Internet; find out how your representative voted on key energy issues. Go to their campaign events and ask them why they didn’t introduce a better batch of bills than we’ve seen in Congress.
Hold challengers to the same high standard. Don’t accept the same old rhetoric about how we “need change in Washington.” We do need change, but we need specific changes, and soon, if we’re going to avoid the devastating effects of global warming and endless wars over oil.
Global Warming or Cold Turkey
In January’s State of the Union address, George Bush admitted America is addicted to oil. Little did we know how prophetically his words would play out in the months that followed. According to the Department of Energy, the average price of gas in the U.S. the week of Mr. Bush’s speech was $2.33 a gallon. Just before the Labor Day holiday, the average price of gas “dropped” 17 cents a gallon to $2.84.
Not long after Mr. Bush’s declaration of oil addiction, scientists told us 2005 was the warmest year on record, surpassing the standard set in 1998. The record may not hold long, as 2006 is looking to be warmer still. Data from NASA and European satellites indicate the Greenland ice cap is melting – a prime factor in rising sea levels – at a rate three times as fast as in recent years. Not to be outdone in the multiplication department, a study published today in the journal Nature reports that the Siberian permafrost is melting five times faster than was previously thought, releasing tons of carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere.
Our domestic supply –stash, perhaps – of oil from the North Slope of Alaska was reduced last month because BP executives didn’t bother to invest in basic infrastructure for their operations in that most fragile environment. North Slope managers, under pressure from corporate to keep costs down – even after repeated warnings from regulators – neglected maintenance to the point where August’s pipeline failure is now blamed on “microbe dung.”
Today, BP’s Richard Woollam, the guy who was supposed to keep the pipe from leaking, refused to testify before Congress, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Meanwhile, the oil companies, the pushers in this analogy of addiction, are stumping to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to more drilling, asking Americans to trust them because they have such a good record. (Did I mention that all but two miles of the Alaska pipeline’s 800-mile length is over permafrost, the stuff that’s melting five times faster than we thought?)
The North Slope mismanagement was just one of BP’s problems, but it ignited festering anger over gas prices among consumers and shined light on BP business practices. The company has been charged with manipulating the price of propane and is being investigated for doing the same with gasoline. News stories remind us BP operates the dirtiest single industrial facility in the U.S. (its refinery at Texas City, TX), where 15 workers were killed and hundreds injured last year in an explosion still under investigation. The $100 million public relations campaign, designed to recast BP’s image from “biggest polluter” to “beyond petroleum” is in tatters.
Thuggish to be sure, but not unexpected behavior from a pusher who has an addict in his thrall. Scrutinize other oil companies as closely and you’ll see a similar track record.
Members of Congress, feeling the pressure of re-election season, have scheduled another hearing in the House and one in the Senate on the North Slope debacle. Investigation is fine, holding corporations accountable would be better, but what’s truly needed is action to break America’s addiction.
First we need to reduce the dose of the drug. Congress should institute higher gas mileage standards for cars sold in America, forcing the deluded and nearly bankrupt automakers to produce the vehicles Americans really want and need. We cannot drill our way to energy security; we can only get there through conservation and efficiency. Those are not personal virtues, Dick Cheney – they’re national imperatives that will support our troops in the most meaningful way possible.
Second, we have to charge oil companies full royalties for all oil and gas extracted from public land and then collect windfall tax on excessive corporate profits. The money raised from those sources must be applied to subsidizing the conservation and efficiency measures mentioned above.
Primaries will be held in many states next week. If you have an incumbent – of either party – running in your district, ask him or her what she or he did to stem the rise in the price of gas, to promote renewable energy, to decrease the emission of greenhouse gases. Use the Internet; find out how your representative voted on key energy issues. Go to their campaign events and ask them why they didn’t introduce a better batch of bills than we’ve seen in Congress.
Hold challengers to the same high standard. Don’t accept the same old rhetoric about how we “need change in Washington.” We do need change, but we need specific changes, and soon, if we’re going to avoid the devastating effects of global warming and endless wars over oil.
© Mark Floegel, 2006