Offshore drilling is not the answer

…But it is part of the answer.

Lots of people like offshore drilling, and just as many think it’s a horrible idea, but the fact of the matter is that we in the U.S. have 2% of the world’s oil reserves. 2%. That’s nowhere close to enough crude to satisfy our thirst for energy, so anyone that has been touting offshore drilling as a viable long term option for solving our energy problems is wrong.

Some offshore drilling is reasonable and acceptable. What is neither reasonable nor acceptable is to base the country’s energy plan strictly on 20th century energy sources like coal, oil, natural gas, and even nuclear. What is also unacceptable is to open all offshore areas to drilling and exploration. Some areas need to be protected and it seems this new relaxation of the offshore drilling ban does just that (specifically in regards to Bristol Bay, Alaska).

An all encompassing energy plan that pursues all options available to us seems rational and reasonable. It just doesn’t make sense to throw all our eggs in one basket, regardless of whether that basket is the polluting, finite resource of fossil fuels or the largely unproven and currently inefficient renewable energy industry.

It seems to be a battle between past and future resources. Both need to be embraced for the present.

Advertisement