EDITORIAL: More oil drilling part of energy transition
This morning, the worldwide price of oil skyrocketed to an all-time record $130 per barrel. More and more gasoline pump prices around the nation are exceeding $4 per gallon.
Hindsight is 20-20, so it's probably unfair to blame politicians and activists who blocked domestic oil exploration over the last 25 years. Still, as shown by President Bush's failed efforts last week to encourage Saudi Arabia to boost its oil production, America is paying dearly now for relying on foreign oil instead of developing more of its own.
Make no mistake. Oil has its drawbacks as an energy source. In addition to being a dwindling resource, there are environmental consequences to both its production and its usage. We need to support America's transition to other energy sources such as wind and solar, both of which show promise in Michigan from usage and manufacturing standpoints.
However both technologies are decades away from providing even 20 percent of our energy use. Nuclear energy, which accounts for almost 80 percent of France's power, deserves more use but still faces critics. As a result, even as transitionary energy sources, petroleum and coal will continue to meet most of America's needs for the foreseeable future. Demand will only continue to rise, and U.S. consumption outstripped the ability of domestic producers to meet it decades ago.
Conservation is important, but there is no way Americans can conserve enough to match the growing petroleum needs of developing nations such as China and India. For the next few decades at least, the choice facing Americans will be whether we drill more oil domestically or whether we help foreign oil producers such as Russia, Iran, Nigeria and Venezuela reap extra billions due to tight supplies.
The U.S. has some promising reserves. Political hurdles have hampered offshore production, however, and current technology is unable to tap other areas such as the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota. Back in 1995, Congress approved drilling within a small part of the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which had been set aside for oil exploration in 1980 when the area was created by Congress. The 1995 proposal was vetoed by President Clinton. Rhetoric and estimates over the recoverable oil have varied widely, but one of the main objections to drilling was that it would take 10 years to bring the oil online. It's 12 years later now and, due to shortsightedness, Americans are paying more than ever for imported oil.
It's time Congress recognized that America can't rely on foreign nations to meet our energy needs. Drilling in domestic areas such as ANWR to expand supply is an important short-term way to ensure Americans won't be staggering at the pumps in another 10 years.