bp oil spill north slope

BP announced a partial legal victory

A judge in Alaska has published a piece of the state's claim against BP stemming from the loss of pipeline from Prudhoe Bay in 2006.

Governor Palin has indicated its priorities in energy by the words: "Drill, baby, drill. It wants the leading role in energy policy in a McCain administration. And it seems that John McCain wants to have.

John McCain is ready to make the same mistake that George W. Bush makes our current Republican president when he asked his vice president do, develop a national energy policy. As Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin knows and cares about only one kind of energy - oil.

Fortunately, Ronald Reagan, Vice President George HW Bush had no desire to become National dentist. When Reagan and Bush Sr. had a "Drill, Baby, Drill adopted" the policy of the 1980 energy crisis, we would not even having this discussion. Our domestic oil reserves would be gone, and we would even deficit foreign oil imports and more of our balance of payments would be larger and the gas at the pump would cost even more.

Delegates to the Republican National Convention chanted "Drill, Baby, Drill". In Palin they have found a dentist and potential national cheerleader in chief. "Drill, Baby, Drill" is a slogan deeply myopic. The last to do as a country if it should operate from a nonrenewable resource, is to use it as soon as possible. The force not come from exhaustion.

domestic oil production in the United States peaked around 1970. It has always been denied, because the trend long-term matter how many holes as we are by the sea or the Arctic permafrost reverse shock. Alaska North Slope decline to reverse this trend for a few years. (I was in Valdez summer day in 1977 when the first came from the crude pipeline in Alaska and went to Japan.)

Companies oil should be in their price levels are criticized. U.S. oil companies should be criticized for the obscene salaries their board members. The CEO of Exxon-Mobile made $ 69.7 million in 2005 (and since), while paying the heads of European companies, British Petroleum (BP) and Royal Dutch Shell 10 percent less than their U.S. counterparts were.

However, U.S. oil companies not to drill should not be in many domestic leases they already hold are criticized - particularly in the Gulf of Mexico. Our country is better position if the importation of oil to foreign oil is cheaper than the national reserves to be extracted. Oil companies prefer also the first deposit of less stable countries while they are sitting on their leases to the U.S.

Importing foreign oil instead of first depleting national reserves, in a sense, perhaps not ethical, but it is clearly in our national interest. Of course, we . Pay We pay the same company anyway. Of course, it will hurt our trade deficit. Would it be better if our children, the latest foreign oil import, if the cost will be even more?

The real problem of our energy crisis is that we learned nothing from the crisis Oil 1980. We knew Do not continue to save energy is by far the most effective strategy. We started driving cars largest and trucks. fuel standards have not improved over the past three decades. We have virtually stopped the development of alternative sources energy for two decades. It was not just U.S. automakers that have been irresponsible. We all were.

Perhaps future generations will be better with the technology they can decide that, in sensitive areas such as drilling platform Arctic and coastal areas. It is their decision. To sing for us, "Drill, Baby, Drill" and want to suck just as quickly as possible, is now immoral. As the national debt, "Drill, Baby, Drill" is another example of the greed of intergenerational equity. This would reduce our options for children and make it more difficult for them to thrive.

The legacy of Sarah Palin as a national dentist would be an open channel for our children and grandchildren.

Lowell Klessig is Professor Emeritus of Resource Management, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Lowell Klessig
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