Posted by
Garnet92 on Friday, July 11, 2008 10:36:12 AM
Speaker Pelosi said calls to drill in protected, sensitive areas is "a hoax" perpetrated by Republicans and the Bush administration. "This call for drilling in areas that are protected is a hoax, it's an absolute hoax on the part of the Republicans and this administration," Pelosi said. "It's a decoy to punt your attention away from the fact that their policies have produced $4-a-gallon gasoline."
Their policies?”
How asinine is that? The democrats (led by the environmental wackos) have prevented any drilling in the name of “protecting” these sensitive natural areas from being despoiled, and now they’re trying to blame republicans for the problem? Those preventing us from drilling are putting the U.S. economy in peril. If if weren't so dangerous, it'd be ludicrous.
Here’s a fact that everyone should know: the area proposed for drilling in ANWR is 31 sq. miles, only slightly larger than the area of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport (DFW), (29 sq. miles). For this, we put our country’s security at risk? For this, we allow ourselves to be held hostage to rising prices?
The United States is in a precarious position. There are two extremely important points relating to our oil supply:
- Suppose Iran sinks a ship in the Gulf of Harmouz, blocking the passage of oil tankers? What will happen here? And when the Strategic Petroleum Reserve runs out an estimated 33 days later?
- If the supply is cut and we must ration, you won’t be able to get an unlimited supply even if you can afford higher prices.
Right now we’re complaining about $4.00/gal. for an unlimited supply of gas. If gasoline is rationed, we will welcome the opportunity to pay $8.00/gal. for “black-market” gas if we could get it. Gasoline rationing could become a reality if something happens in the Gulf of Harmouz to halt the flow of crude. When rationing comes, even the affluent will be affected; it doesn’t matter that you can afford it if there’s none to be had.
Rationing is not a “doomsday” scenario – it’s already happened. If you’re younger than mid 50's, you probably don’t remember any personal discomfort, you were too young. But coming from one who experienced it, a colonoscopy is more fun.
But in 1973, OPEC instituted an oil embargo. Because suppliers were limited in their stocks, gas stations were also limited in the amount of gas they could sell. They either limited individuals to 10 gallons at a time or let everyone fill up and just closed the station when the day’s supply ran out. And you didn’t just stop at a station and pump your gas – chances are that you had to get in line. And the queues were long waiting to get your gas – waiting an hour to pump 10 gallons wasn’t unusual. Seeing a sign at a station indicating that they were “Out of Gas” was a frequent sight.
And this just in: VIENNA:Published: July 10, 2008, The head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries warned Thursday that oil prices would see an "unlimited" increase in the case of a military conflict involving Iran, because the group's members would be unable to make up the lost production. "We really cannot replace Iran's production - it's not feasible to replace it," Abdalla Salem El-Badri, the OPEC secretary general, said during an interview.
Further price increases and/or shortages are one incident away. Every time that loon Ahmadinejad frowns, prices go up. We are at his mercy. It could happen again.