The other day President Bush called for more exploration of America’s domestic oil reserves including off the coast of California and ANWR in Alaska. In my opinion this was long overdue but better late than never.
Our esteemed Senator Feinstein immediately went before the cameras waving the “bloody shirt” of the 1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill saying to the Associated Press,"Californians are all too familiar with the consequences of offshore drilling," Feinstein said. "An oil spill in 1969 off the coast of Santa Barbara killed thousands of birds, as well as dolphins, seals and other marine animals. And we know this could happen again."
That spill happened almost 40 years ago and there have been no major spills from oil platforms off the coast of California since that time. During Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005 the almost 4,000 oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico reported some major damage and many rigs were lost, but there were no major spills.
Senator McCain proposes a massive effort to build clean burning nuclear plants. Environmentalists then pull out the other “bloody shirt” of Three Mile Island that happened in 1979.
That was almost 30 years ago and other than the poorly constructed Soviet-era Chernobyl reactor we have not had any accidents since. France relies on nuclear power for 76% of its electricity needs and China will build 32 nuclear plants by 2020 and a total of 300 by 2050.
There are also 102 nuclear reactors among 80 combat ships in the United States Navy and there has never been an accident.
Since environmentalists, especially Californians, are so dead set against nuclear power do they want to ban all nuclear powered ships from California ports since there is the possibility of an accident? Should the aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan and the USS Nimitz be based somewhere else other than San Diego because of this? What say you Senators Feinstein and Boxer? Do you want all those naval support jobs somewhere else? Do you want those navy families spending their money somewhere else?
Welcome to America’s new religion. The Church of Environmental Elitism
The dogma of this church is loosely based on the teachings of the prophet Al Gore. The main article of faith is that global warming or climate change is caused by man and man must be punished for this. (It is called Global Warming when the weather is hot and Climate Change when we have a long winter like this year.) While the new religion is centered on Al Gore, he has many disciples in Hollywood, New York and Washington D.C., and in the media.
Much like the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, wealthy believers can purchase indulgences for their environmental sins in the form of carbon offsets. These sins can include using polluting private jets, building massive castles that are not energy efficient, and driving SUVs or riding in limos. The rest of us will rot in environmental hell because we can’t afford the indulgences. Sorry peasants.
The wealthy and the celebrities can also buy new hydrogen cars 10 years before the rest of us but they scold Americans as “environmental hedonists” for driving pick-up trucks or SUVs. Never mind the person who needs his truck to haul hay for his horses, needs one for is landscape business or the mother who needs an SUV to haul her family around. Buy a Prius.
And the real orthodox branch of the faith would like to take away your barbecue if you use charcoal because it emits carbon into the air and eventually your steaks and hamburgers because cattle give off greenhouse gases!
But will they take no responsibility for our current situation? You must be joking. High gas prices and other energy costs are penance for our destruction of the planet. Oil and natural gas companies, power plant operators, utilities, auto manufacturers are the ones to blame.
For years the Church has used the legal system and pliant politicians to get what they want. And what do they want? No more fossil fuels. No more nuclear plants. And no new power plants, refineries or electricity transmission lines.
They say “no” to all progress and hide behind their religion. Social engineering that changes the way we live is the goal. They want to alter your behavior so you will ride public transit, live in “transit villages” near the transit, and generally downgrade your lifestyle to fit what they think is necessary for a healthy planet. Will they do the same? Don’t bet the ranch on it.
And the Gospel of Gore had been finding new adherents recently. That is until gasoline hit $4.00 a gallon with no end to the price rise in sight. People are finally waking up to the fact that our failure to address our energy needs for the last 30 to 40 years has put us in this bind and that the environmental zealots have painted us into a corner by stopping any attempts to do the things necessary to meet our growing appetite.
A perfect example is the defeat of an LNG Terminal off the coast of Oxnard. LNG is natural gas that is liquefied, placed in special ships and then brought to a terminal where it is reconstituted into a gas and then piped to where it is needed. California now pays some of the highest prices for natural gas in the nation. This technology has been used around the world for 25 years with no accidents. But that did not stop the environmental elitists.
Pierce Brosnan and other wealthy environmentalists did not want an LNG terminal off “their” beaches. But they can afford higher natural gas prices this winter while working families will have to decide what to give up when they are hit with the triple whammy of high gasoline prices and increased electricity costs. This winter we should all send our natural gas bills to Mr. Brosnan!
By the way, the Hollywood crowd really doesn’t want you riff raff on their beaches either and in the past have tried to use their muscle on the Coastal Commission to keep you off. Right David Geffen?
Let me be very clear. My wife and I are devout recyclers and I am trying to take fewer trips to conserve resources. One of my brothers has a business that recycles construction waste. I want us to get off oil as our primary energy source tomorrow. I have no desire to fund the global mischief of Iran, Venezuela or the Saudis. I hope I live long enough to see an America leading the world with new fuels that don’t pollute and I can watch OPEC sitting on pools of useless black muck not knowing what to do with it. In addition, it’s pretty tough to fund terrorists when no petrodollars are coming in.
But I’ll be dogged if I will give up the freedom to choose what kind of vehicle I can drive, where I will live and what I can eat.
I am also a realist and unfortunately the day of mass produced, viable alternative fuels is not here yet. But as I have said before in this space, with common sense conservation, aggressive exploration and visionary innovation we can break our addiction to oil and in the process build an energy industry that will create new jobs and technologies. I firmly believe that if we can put a man on the moon in less than 10 years we can do this. I believe this because I believe in the ingenuity of American business and industry and the hard work and entrepreneurship of the American people.
But we have to do all three. One of these things alone will not get us there.
You will hear environmentalists say that if we drill now the oil won’t be here for 10 years! Where they get their information on the 10 years I have no idea. Talk to an oil expert and they say they can cut that time in half. But that is not the point.
The minute we start down the road to new domestic exploration, more conservation and creating new fuels, the barrel price of oil futures will fall because commodity traders and speculators will see that America is serious about its energy future, more supply is coming and the day of alternatives to oil is that much closer.
One final thought on the Church of Environmental Elitism.
Al Gore and his followers have stated that they want to “reverse” climate change. It is the height of arrogance and Baby Boomer hubris to think that we can reverse nature and millions of years of the planet’s evolution. I am reminded of the story of Danish and English King Canute in the 11th Century.
Old Canute was surrounded by sycophants and butt kissers who would tell him of his great power and how wonderful he was. One day when he and his courtiers were near the sea, they even told him that he could command the sea and he tides to stop.
Well, he decided to teach them a lesson and he took them up on that challenge and had his throne placed at the water’s edge. He commanded the sea to stop and all he got were wet feet.
“Well, my friends," Canute said, "it seems I do not have quite so much power as you would have me believe. Perhaps you have learned something today. Perhaps now you will remember there is only one King who is all-powerful, and it is he who rules the sea, and holds "the ocean in the hollow of his hand. I suggest you reserve your praises for him."
Perhaps Al Gore and his Disciples need to remember wise old King Canute before they try to challenge Mother Nature or an even higher being.