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Oil Prices, Rail and Mass Transit
Guest Column | By Paul M. Weyrich | June 23, 2008
There has been much talk of late in Congress about the need to begin drilling our own oil. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reported a poll which indicates that 57% of Americans now favor drilling and 42% want to keep the oil reserves for future pristine beauty. The poll represents a dramatic shift from radical environmentalism. Despite such, a House of Representatives committee voted against a resolution to permit drilling off U.S. shores. Apparently, with gas over $4 per gallon, Americans are getting the picture. Sure, we can’t completely drill our way to energy independence. However, it is becoming clear that Saudi Arabia has the better end of the bargain.
Apparently, we have more oil in one of the locked reserves than that of Saudi Arabia. In turn, we are subsidizing Venezuela. President Hugo Chavez funds leftist guerrillas in neighboring states. Our funds have also enabled the Russians to rail against American defense and foreign policies.
Iran not only wants to harm Americans but has promised that Israel will be destroyed. These nations build weapons with our money and so it goes.
True, we purchase oil from Canada and Mexico but why should we line their pockets when we have our own oil and its extraction would create thousands of domestic high-paying jobs. Senator James R. (Jim) Inhofe, who almost single-handily has exposed the fallacies in the hysteria over global warming, is now the leading proponent of drilling here, drilling now. So what kind of reserves are we looking at? Inhofe says the Outer Continental Shelf would yield 14 billion barrels of oil. ANWR would yield 10 billion barrels. Rocky Mountain Oil Shale in Colorado, Utah and maybe Wyoming would yield two trillion barrels. Now ever since the first oil was extracted from the ground in Pennsylvania in the 1850s to the present, we have used one trillion barrels of oil. Finally, by the preserving of access to Canadian oil sands 179 billion barrels of oil would be available.
This does not include the recently discovered oil reserves in North Dakota. We yet do not have a reliable measure of what is there but some engineers estimate that we are talking about at least 50 to 100 billion barrels of oil. We have been told for years that we will be running out of oil any year. That is utter nonsense.
Other nations also are making major finds. Most of them are not our enemies. Clearly $4 gasoline has begun to change attitudes and even behavior. Transit systems all over the nation are carrying loads not seen since the years immediately following World War II. I was visiting with the Amtrak hierarchy last week. Passenger traffic is dramatically up from a year ago last month. One of the trains has 85% more passengers this year over last. All of the Corridor trains, Washington – New York, New York – Boston, Boston – Portland, Chicago – St. Louis, Milwaukee – Chicago, San Diego – Los Angeles and three other California corridors are all carrying record numbers of passengers.
In fact, Amtrak is running out of equipment. Amtrak has only a small backlog of injured passengers cars which can be repaired and put back into service. Most Amtrak trains need reservations now in order to guarantee seats to passengers. No wonder the Amtrak reauthorization bill has passed both houses with veto-proof majorities. Typically, the George W. Bush Administration was on Capitol Hill lobbying against the bill. Their green eye-shade mentality cannot comprehend what is happening in the countryside.
A Senate-House Conference Committee will iron out differences in the bills. President Bush already has said he would veto the measure. I will be very surprised if his veto were not overridden. The House-passed bill contains two amendments the fate of which is uncertain. One would provide $150 million for each of the next ten years for the Washington Metrorail System. Bush is really against that amendment and he might succeed in getting it knocked out of the bill. But Metrorail is now carrying almost 800,000 passengers per day. The other amendment was pushed by Representative John Mica (R-FL). It would authorize a super high-speed corridor between Washington and New York, reducing the time between those cities from three hours to less than two. A laudable goal but the cost of doing such would be so prohibitive that a new corridor may never see the light of day. Even if gas prices decrease many people would have discovered that they can save money by using the train and may do so in relative comfort. This dramatic turnaround may not just be temporary.
Paul Weyrich is Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.
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8 Comments | Post a Comment
I’m not sure that private companies would run it any better and if they didn’t, they would also come running to the government for a bail out.
Public transportation seems like a really good idea. It just isn’t available for some of the country.
Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of how the ‘government’ works, and the deceptions that the FED and the other banking interests have initiated upon the U.S., regarding the cheap, readily available sources of energy that we have in our states,will immediately recognize the deception/obfustation tactics of this article.
For those who do NOT have this understanding, I must point out that WE, the UNITED STATES, sit on far more READILY ACAILABLE ENERGY RESOURCES than most ot the rest of the world, and it IS NOT in the form of ‘shale oil’, or other pie-in-the-sky- lies, such as ‘deathanol’.
http://wideeyecinema.com/?p=203
The U.S. GOVERNMENT classified such available oil sources as GULL ISLAND, and SWANSON RIVER, AK, as ‘top secret’, in 1975, when WE WERE EXPERIENCING A SUPPOSED OIL CRISIS. They REFUSED to allow usage of these resources, AS THEY DO TO THIS DATE.
The U.S. GOVERNMENT is COMPLICIT in the withholding of this energy, which COULD BE BROUGHT to ‘MARKET’ within ONE YEAR.
McCain and Bush and Obama are trying to divert attention FROM THIS FACT by rehashing ‘offshore drilling’, which will take TEN YEARS to do, and will yield about TWO YEARS of usage, yet these unused fields will allow TWO HUNDRED YEARS USAGE, counting for PROJECTED INCREASES.
WHY?
By the time we are all riding Chinese-made bicycles, and using steel made in CHINA, the reasons will become apparent (OOPS, that’s RIGHT NOW!).
I HOPE you will investigate the link I have enclosed, and spend 75 minutes becoming ACTUALLY EDUCATED, instead of falsely believing the ‘public’ (government, taxed and controlled and regulated) propaganda. The GOVERNMENT is forcing this situation upon us, and one must question their motives, once one realizes the TRUTH.
I ask, in all seriousness here, the following submitted rebuttal questions regarding the COPIED article:
What are ‘a small backlog of injured passengers cars’? Were the cars abraided, stabbed, or otherwise homotogologiphally bled? Do these ‘cars’ feel ‘pain’? WILL OPRAH COME TO THEIR AID NOW? REALLY, INJURED?? Try ‘DAMAGED’, or some other REAL description. ‘POOR, INJURED CHEVRON CARS. OH, THE PAIN they must “FEEL”!’.
Billy the Teflon President might ‘feel their pain’, but I DO NOT.
What is the ‘green eye-shade mentality’?
Is like the ‘Teflon Don’ mentality, or the ‘tin-foil hat wearing’ mentality, or the ‘koolaid-drinking’ mentality, or the ‘NEOCON’ mentality, or the ‘hippie’ mentality?
Further, WHAT is ‘your’ ‘mentality’ that would disassociate the issues with label-calling, and name-calling, the oldest and perhaps most effective tools of the PROPAGANDIST, and why does a site such as ‘ACCURACY’ in Media, reprint this propagandist diatribe?
GEE, the actual TRUTH is somewhat bitter, but required.
Free thinkers? Your AIM is to propagandize and divide the various peoples that read this crap in to the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. The ‘haves’ are ‘green-eyed monster(shade) people, here, who ARE NOT DEFINED. Are they actually BLUE-HAIRED old women? That’s the ONLY connotation I can think of.
This article is PURE CRAP.
I’m inclined to drain the Middle East, Russia, and all other totalitarian/authoritarian nations of oil before we drain our own.
Separation of economic and political power is a basic requirement of Freedom. Because the economic power of their oil keeps these fascists in political power, the rational response is to deplete their economic power as quickly as possible.
Be VERY afraid when our politicians (e.g., Maxine Waters) threaten to nationalize the oil and refining industries. They are totalitarians and must be defeated!
Montgomery, I’m in agreement as far as the fact that we have plenty of oil in this country. I have seen a video about Gull Island as well.
Some years ago, maybe 10, my son was working for a company in the oil business. He was working in LA. At that time, he came home and said they had found a huge pool of oil that stretched a long way down the southern coastline. I have heard nothing more about that find.
Of course, the price of oil is a manufactured price. I also truly believe our government is complicit in this.
I do not believe our government has an allegiance to the American people as far as producing oil for their benefit. If and when the oil is drilled in this country, I do not see our prices somehow being lower than what it could be sold on the open market.
No way do I want our oil industry any more government controlled than it is, but neither do I want to see our oil drilled by some foreign company. I don’t know if we have a US company at all, or one that would be inclined to do help the people here.
The idea of using the ME oil before ours is not new, I remember it being talked about decades ago.
It sounds good, but if the ‘draining’ of the ME oil results in a bankrupting of the American people, and a further shrinking of our ability to provide goods for our ownselves, then we have only accomplished our own end.
It would seem it would be better to allow some US company, if there is one to drill, with the stipulation it is sold here first.
Also, we need to continue on the path to reducing our unnecessary and wasteful lifestyles.
WE can continue to have a comfortable, healthy lifestyle by curtailing our incessant, manic shopping tendencies in this country.
A sheet is a sheet, whether it is the right color or matches or not. Clothing is clothing as long as it is warm/cool, fits. A appliance is an appliance as long as it works, it doesn’t matter if your fridge and stove don’t match in color. A TV is a TV - considering the quality of programming, I can’t imagine people spending $1K on a new TV. Children do not need a backyard full of cheap Chinese toys in order to be happy, etc., etc., etc.
We also need to develop alternative energy and stop thinking that oil is the only thing that will work. No matter how much oil we have, we will have to do this someday. Why not use oil for the things that can’t be replaced with other energy and replace what we can. It will be better for the air we breathe and the water we drink. Also, the rest of the world may be faced with needing it before we do. Wouldn’t it be great for this country to once again be the leader in something besides shopping and questionable entertainment?
Also, I’m thinking we need to think a little harder about promoting, encouraging and buying products made in this country.
Did anyone read the article about China now building aircraft carriers??
That puts an entirely different light on the fact that China owns the Panama Canal. They may not yet have the deed, but they own it. It is also being reworked as I undertand to allow for larger ships.
It also puts an entirely different light on the idea of China building deep water ports in Mexico and some kind of agreement about oil.
It also should make us thing more than twice about this superhighway that is being built from Mexico. A highway that can bring loaded trucks (with what?) into the heartland of the US, enter through a Mexican facility in Kansas City.
We are being misdirected about the oil situation, I think. I also think we are focusing on the ‘war on terrorism’ while China is getting ready to rule the world - and us with it, and we are buying their equipment.
Harry Reed YOU really need to read this. All America has, but you just seam to be out of the loop and ARE NOT in the same zone as the REST OF AMERICA.
So why don’t your staff look into the web site and you should also. STOP KILLING AMERICA!
The Truth About Crude Oil
First Crude Oil is NOT from Dino the Dinosaur or his brothers. Logically speaking if the earth was covered with a dense primeval forest and there was a Dinosaur living in every five square mile area on the face of the earth, and all this was compressed into a sub surface space for tens of thousands of years, and produced a pool of Crude Oil, it WOULD ONLY FEED the needs of this world for the PAST twenty years, so WHAT FUELED the Industrial Age for the first EIGHTY YEARS???????????????????????????
Think about what is stated above! Science states that oil is the by product of the earths ENGINE as it rotates creating GRAVITY and super heating rock formations, that through this process release oil and this oil flows into cavities within the earth.
Now with this said, what is the reason for the excessive spike in Crude and Natural Gas prices? GREED.
In the 60’s gas sold for 35 cents a gallon, cars got 5 to 7 MPG so a 100 mile trip would take some 16 gallons at a cost of 5 dollars. Today cars get 30 miles to a gallon and that same trip would only take 3 gallons of gas at a cost of 12 dollars. Take into account the LOSS OF VALUE of the FRN and you will see that BIG OIL is KEEPING ITS bottom line HIGH as the efficiency of the engines increase.
There was a contrived oil crisis in the 70’s and there is one today. Why? It is the GREED of BIG OIL! It takes less than 20 dollars to get oil out of the ground and refined into its product and delivered. It takes from 6 months to a year for a well from the day the drill head starts the hole until it produce oil. The Russians can do it in three mounts. Today’s wells exceed 6000 barrels a day, and one off shore platform can have over 20 SLANT WELL HEADS producing oil 24 hours a day.
The United States of America is sitting on the worlds largest coal reserves; it also has more crude oil than the Middle East. Recent finds in Montana exceed what is found in Saudi Arabia, and Pennsylvania has over 3 trillion cubic feet of Natural Gas yet to be pumped into the system. Alaska has extensive reserves yet CONGRESS has for years REFUSED to allow the release of this oil, because of RED TAPE and that they are under the control of ENVIRONMENTALIST groups. These groups want all Americans to ride bikes and live as the settlers did in the 1800. Congress continues to LIE regarding the time it takes to drill a well and get the oil into the system. They state that it would be ten years before wells drilled today could produce oil. This is a BOLD FACE LIE. Congress has prohibited drilling for the past two decades, if what they say is true and if they allowed drilling decades ago we would NOT HAVE FOUR DOLLAR A GALLON GAS PRICES, and HOME HEATING OIL WOULD NOT BE OVER FOUR DOLLARS A GALLON, THAT WILL CAUSE A HEATING CRISIS THIS WINTER, and SOME AMERICAN MAY FREEZE TO DEATH FOR LACK OF HEAT. CONGRESS IS TO BLAME IF THIS OCCURS.
Today’s advances in drilling insure a protected environment. The WILD CAT wells of the early 1900 are a thing of the past.
Environmentalist claim that the exhaust of power plants create TONS of CO2, HOWEVER, CO2 is a GAS and is measured in cubic feet NOT TONS. The advance scrubbing of the exhausts prevent most hydrocarbons from being suspended in the atmosphere. Most ALL the reasons given by environmentalist are not science, but an agenda to deprive Americans of their standard of living.
For MORE INFORMATION of the Truth About Big Oil visit
http://www.ilm-efx.5u.com/photo4.html
You Will Be Amazed, and make sure you click on the link GLOBAL WARMING and read what the ENVIRONMENTALIST do not want you to know about NON GLOBAL WARMING BY MAN.
July 24 2008
Today’s vote in Congress showed how the DEMOCRATS are refusing to allow OUR OWN OIL to be used , and FORCING the USA to purchase OIL and NATURAL GAS from off shore.
Pelosi, Reed and the other LEFT WING LIBERAL DEMOCRATS, are HOLDING the Citizens of the United States Hostage to their insipid elitist actions. The DEMOCRATS state that it will take 10 years for any wells drilled today to produce oil, YET the Russians can drill a well in three months and have the oil in the pipe line. If WELLS were drilled today in 6 months to a year we could be producing over 6000 barrels a day from each well drilled. The DEMOCRATS LIE through their teeth! WHY? Because they are PAID by environments that are out of touch with reality, and want all Americans to ride bicycles and live in huts, with no electricity, water, or waste treatment plants. These “ENVIRONMENTALIST” would rather protect a foreign rat that came over on a tramp steamer from China, than the well being of Americans.
This winter there are going to be many elderly people on social security that will have to choose between heating oil and food, some may even die because they can not heat their homes. All because the LIBERAL LEFT WING DEMOCRATS refuse to allow drilling.
Our economy is in shambles, food is costly because of high OIL PRICES. The Democrats blame the President, YET THEY ARE THE ONES THAT REFUSE TO ALLOW DRILLING.
BOOT THEM ALL OUT IN NOVEMBER and put responsible people in Congress.
For more information view the expanded web site
http://www.ilm-efx.5u.com/photo4.html
You will be amazed!
June 23 at 11:18 pm | #1 | Link
If ridership is up so much, why do they need taxpayer money??
Break it up and sell it off to private companies who will go BROKE if they run it inefficiently and STOP WASTING OUR TAX MONEY!!!!!