Barack Obama's Un-Fair Energy Taxes

OIL DRILLING...

What’s the truth at the bottom of the emotional froth? The Federal Minerals and Management Service has estimated that the “natural” seepage in the Santa Barbara Channel is between 100 and 150 barrels of oil per day! Note, more oil seeps naturally into the waters off Santa Barbara every day then the oil platforms have spilled in 30 years! By way of anecdotal observation I note that many “old timers” from Santa Barbara have related that decades ago the beaches along the coast were covered with oil and tar, and that since the platforms began pumping the amount of oil on the beaches is a fraction of what it was 30 to 40 years ago. Studies done by U.C. Santa Barbara support the theory that the oil platforms actually reduce “natural” oil seepage in the sea.

Have you ever seen those old WWII movies where the submarines are firing torpedoes into oil tankers? . Well, thousands of ships were sent to the bottom from 1939 -1945. ALL of these ships were carrying thousands of gallons of fuel and, oil, not to mention men. The Exxon Valdez wouldn’t even compare to one month’s loss of oil during WWII. Another fact worthy of consideration is that you won’t find even one photograph of an oil covered seagull or an article discussing the “Environmental Tragedy” in newspapers of the day.

As a matter of fact, the site of one of the worst oil spills in history is Truk Lagoon. In 1944, more than 70 Japanese ships were sunk in an enclosed lagoon by American dive bombers. These ships carried vast amounts of chemicals, explosives and oil. Additionally, hundreds of high explosive bombs and shells and dozens of aircraft crashed into the lagoon during this same two day period. Despite this, what today would be deemed an environmental calamity, Truk Lagoon has one of the most diverse underwater ecosystems to be found anywhere in the world and is considered one the worlds premier dive sites. Oil still seeps from the dozens of Japanese ships.

The amount of oil spilled today are tiny compared to the massive spills of six decades ago and do not justify the current State and Federal regulations which border on insanity.

The off-shore platforms themselves, while unsightly, provide a home for thousands of sea creatures which could not survive in the natural, but barren surrounding ocean bottom.

Further, we should look at the question of increased drilling in Alaska. Numerous studies have shown little impact on wildlife. As a matter of fact, the caribou herds have grown dramatically in size since the construction of the Alaskan pipeline. Besides, if one can’t drill for oil in empty, remote, frozen tundra, then where, can oil wells be located?

Finally, diagonal drilling allows for as many as 30 wells to be drilled on little more than an acre. Compare that with the thousands of acres destroyed by a wind farm which produce only tiny amounts of heavily subsidized energy at great cost to wildlife.

Going Green Has Gone To Far!

R.L. Schaefer of CA 6:55PM March 17, 2012