Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Everyone knows it so let me in on the conversation: Gas prices are absolutely ridiculous. The cheapest gas in the region of western New York I currently inhabit is $2.99/gallon. Most are well over three dollars. This is quickly becoming an issue in the November elections and it should be. This actually may give Republicans the edge in that in January President Bush outlined a plan to deal with American dependence on foreign oil. Personally, I think we are heading for a bit of a plummet in prices soon: Iraq appears to be stabilizing and their oil is crucial. If we can keep from war with Iran, we will continue to have their oil. Russia and China are pumping as much oil as they possibly can and if the Republicans force through a bill allowing drilling in Alaska, we'll have enough oil to lower the prices substantially.
What can we do in the meantime? The Pendragon has a suggestion: Bush should take a page from Bill Clinton's book (not the one in the restricted section of the library, the other one) and release a substantial amount of oil from the government's reserves. In the summer of 2000 this artificially lowered the price in an election year and we're certainly in much more dire straits now. But in the long run the only strategies that will work is, first, success in Iraq, and secondly, hard work on a new source of energy. The Pendragon does not claim to be an expert in energy but it only stands to reason that even if we find new sources of oil, they can't last forever. We need to do what we can to bolster supplies and keep it cheap, but in the meantime let's start working on another way to do things.
What can we do in the meantime? The Pendragon has a suggestion: Bush should take a page from Bill Clinton's book (not the one in the restricted section of the library, the other one) and release a substantial amount of oil from the government's reserves. In the summer of 2000 this artificially lowered the price in an election year and we're certainly in much more dire straits now. But in the long run the only strategies that will work is, first, success in Iraq, and secondly, hard work on a new source of energy. The Pendragon does not claim to be an expert in energy but it only stands to reason that even if we find new sources of oil, they can't last forever. We need to do what we can to bolster supplies and keep it cheap, but in the meantime let's start working on another way to do things.
// posted by The Pendragon @ 8:07 PM 
