This letter was from a timid, former beauty queen (with a rebellious husband and daughter) of a small insignificant state, to the Senate Majority Leader. I guess if the fog of the media can prevent us from looking at her positions and her qualities, they will have won. If anything is gleaned from this, Gov. Sarah Palin has a deep understanding of national security.
Let's never forget that even $100/barrel is expensive. When I arrived in Colorado, I was paying just under $1 per gallon of gas. With inflation, gas prices should be somewhere under $1.60 per gallon (on the high end). "All of the above" is the only real energy answer, and it starts with drilling at home. If Great Britain, Canada, and Australia were oil producers, we would not be in this mess. Free trade is great, but it's not free if the citizens in the oil producing nations are not - there is a correlation.
-jsa
June 23, 2008
The Honorable Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader
United States Senate
528 Hart Senate Office Building .
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senate Majority Leader Reid:
In previous correspondence to members of Congress, I have urged the enactment of legislation to authorize development of oil and natural gas in a small portion of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). I will not repeat the arguments in favor of this legislation but will briefly focus on a few key points that have become even more evident since my last correspondence.
That letter began, "With the price of oil hovering around $100 per barrel". Now, just a few months later, the price is close to $140 per barrel, and there is no end in sight. What will it take for Congress to enact comprehensive energy policy that includes increased domestic production of oil and gas, renewable and alternative energy, and conservation? It seems to us outside of the Capitol Beltway that Virtually every effort to accomplish this is met with criticism and failure. In my opinion, the debate about energy policy is no longer theoretical and abstract. Our failure to enact an energy policy is having real consequences for every American in their daily lives and has begun to affect America's place in the world.
In the last few days, proposals have been tabled to permit oil exploration and development in the 80 percent of the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) which is off limits to such activity. I strongly support oes development in Alaska and elsewhere as a necessary component of a sound energy strategy. However, it makes no sense to consider the oes and to ignore the possibility of exploration and development in highly perspective upland areas, including the coastal plain of ANWR-the most promising unexplored petroleum province in North America.
With appropriate stipulations, oil exploration and development in the OCS can be conducted in a safe manner. Uplands development can be accomplished even more safely. Advanced technologies, such as directional drilling and the re-injection of oil wastes, ensure that the footprint of development would be less than 2,000 acres (approximately one-quarter of the size of Dulles Airport).
In advocating for oil development in ANWR, I have never guaranteed that this new domestic production would immediately reduce the price of oil. However, incremental production from the coastal plain should help reduce price volatility in the U.S. Additionally, ANWR development would send a strong message to oil speculators and producing countries that the United States is serious about addressing its energy problem.
Yet, there is an even more important point. The location and quantity of oil production are changing world geopolitics. Countries that produce significant quantities of oil and natural gas are gaining in power and prestige. Several of these countries have objectives and value systems that are antithetical to U.S. interests. We are becoming increasingly dependent on these insecure sources to our long-term detriment. Further, it has become clear that U.S. petrodollars are financing activities that are harmful to America and to our economic and military interests around the world.
Much attention has been focused on the importance of crude oil and gasoline in fueling our nation's transportation system. This need for petroleum will not end anytime soon despite efforts to develop new technologies and to diversify our transportation system into mass transit and more fuel efficient automobiles.
Meanwhile, the true significance to the nation's economy of products refined from petroleum is becoming increasingly apparent. These products undergird our entire society and economy and provide precious jobs and revenue. The soaring prices of chemicals, plastics, fertilizer, and other products - and the loss of jobs - graphically illustrate this point. We must recognize that it will be many years, if ever, before we discover alternatives to the petroleum-based products that every American uses in our daily lives.
If we don't move now to enact an energy policy that includes more oil and gas production from domestic sources, including ANWR and the federal OCS, we may look back someday and realize that we failed to perceive a critical crossroad in the history of this nation. I don't think it's overly dramatic to say that this nation's future and the quality of life for every American are dependent on the decisions you make or don't make in the next few months.
Thank you for considering my views.
Sincerely,
Sarah Palin
Governor
cc: President George Bush
Vice President Richard Cheney
The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
The Honorable Samuel Bodman, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
The Honorable Ted Stevens, Alaska Congressional Delegation
The Honorable Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Congressional Delegation
The Honorable Don Young, Alaska Congressional Delegation
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
September 13, 2008
September 10, 2008
Energy is...
Energy is our economy:
If you talk about our energy prices and alternate fuel sources, you are talking about our economy. Drilling at home adds jobs, reduces the cost of fuel, and gives every person more disposable income. If we are building windmills, we are adding jobs, researching technology, reducing prices, and strengthening our economy. If we are building nuclear power plants, we are adding jobs, lowering demand for oil and as such, reducing the price of oil. As the price of oil decreases, so does the price of food, gasoline, and just about anything else you can think of. There is petroleum in the plastic of a bottle of water and soda. Not to mention the machinery used to make the bottles, and the trucks transporting the bottles (all for a bottle of water). We use oil to transport our food, and we use oil to process our food. We use oil to make pasta from grain, and we use oil to irrigate our farm lands with fertilizer made with machinery that requires oil. Oil is an embedded cost in everything you buy. They don't use sailboats to transfer coffee from Colombia to each Starbucks. If you have an understanding about energy, you understand our economy.
Energy is our national security and foreign relations:
If you talk about our energy prices and alternate fuel sources, you are talking about our national security and foreign relations. Everyone has heard that we send $700 million to people 'that don't like us very much' per year by purchasing foreign oil. The truth is we get a lot of oil from Canada as well. But the overwhelming amount of oil we get from the Middle East, Russia, and Venezuela makes that claim more than accurate. OPEC will not let the price of a barrel of oil go below $100 ever again. Just today they cut production as it was dropping to $104. Supply and demand should dictate prices, not dictators themselves. The USA consumes 25% of the world's oil. If we increase the amount of domestic oil, nuclear/solar/coal/wind power we use, we reduce demand and lower the price of oil and reduce Islamic Fascism's budget. If the United States demanded less of the world's energy (because it made its own), emerging economies worldwide would not be slowed by the over indulgence of American consumerism due to high prices from high demand. If it were not for oil, Russia would not have invaded Georgia with such determination and resolve. If you have an understanding about energy, you understand national security and foreign relations.
Energy is education:
If you talk about our energy prices and alternate fuel sources, you are talking about education. Local school districts require school buses, that require fuel. More and more money is shifted to transportation costs (with half-empty buses) every year which takes out money from the best performing teachers, and the classroom in general. We don't need more money for the local schools, we need to reduce transportation and heating costs for our schools. Not to mention the lumber that is cut with chainsaws, transported in trucks, and made in factories into paper to write on and make books. If you understand energy, you understand how it effects our children's education.
Energy is our social security:
If you talk about our energy prices and alternate fuel sources, you are talking about our social security dilemma. When you hear about record oil profits, ask yourself: "If we had invested social security taxes in energy stocks even three years ago, would I be worried about the status of social security?" Not to mention, as wind plants, gas pipelines, and coal plants are built, why would we not invest in our energy with our retirement funds. Rather than scorning energy companies for their profits, perhaps we should be taking advantage of them as well. Why aren't our 401K's invested in the oil companies? Not a single oil company is just invested in oil. They are energy companies. If you understand energy, you understand social security.
Energy is our national deficit:
If you talk about our energy prices and alternate fuel sources, you are talking about our budget deficits. If we were putting more people to work on our own oil fields off shore, building our own natural gas pipelines, building nuclear power plants or mining coal, we would be collecting more payroll, property, and other taxes. Because we import so much oil, we are not putting people to work and are missing out on all that revenue. We don't need to raise taxes, we need to keep them at the level they are at (or lower them), and put more people to work giving us energy. Oil companies have about a 50% tax rate as it is. We need them to do more business in the United States, not raise taxes on them. A smaller deficit leads to a stronger dollar, which leads to the cost of oil dropping even more. If energy/oil is cheaper, the cost of defending our nation is cheaper.
Oil will, for a long time to come, be a key part of our energy solution in America. An all of the above solution is required today. Each of these categories above could be elaborated on even more, and there are more categories I am sure. Increasing taxes does not create jobs, drilling for oil while building other energy infrastructure does. I would ask that you decide which candidates (at the local and national level) provide the best common sense and time sensitive energy solutions for America. Regardless of your personal 'key issue', it is tied to the price of our energy. Let's drill baby drill, lay pipeline and railway, and start today. From poverty (energy prices, home foreclosures, etc) to national defense (the price of the fuel in our tanks and fighters), energy is...
If you talk about our energy prices and alternate fuel sources, you are talking about our economy. Drilling at home adds jobs, reduces the cost of fuel, and gives every person more disposable income. If we are building windmills, we are adding jobs, researching technology, reducing prices, and strengthening our economy. If we are building nuclear power plants, we are adding jobs, lowering demand for oil and as such, reducing the price of oil. As the price of oil decreases, so does the price of food, gasoline, and just about anything else you can think of. There is petroleum in the plastic of a bottle of water and soda. Not to mention the machinery used to make the bottles, and the trucks transporting the bottles (all for a bottle of water). We use oil to transport our food, and we use oil to process our food. We use oil to make pasta from grain, and we use oil to irrigate our farm lands with fertilizer made with machinery that requires oil. Oil is an embedded cost in everything you buy. They don't use sailboats to transfer coffee from Colombia to each Starbucks. If you have an understanding about energy, you understand our economy.
Energy is our national security and foreign relations:
If you talk about our energy prices and alternate fuel sources, you are talking about our national security and foreign relations. Everyone has heard that we send $700 million to people 'that don't like us very much' per year by purchasing foreign oil. The truth is we get a lot of oil from Canada as well. But the overwhelming amount of oil we get from the Middle East, Russia, and Venezuela makes that claim more than accurate. OPEC will not let the price of a barrel of oil go below $100 ever again. Just today they cut production as it was dropping to $104. Supply and demand should dictate prices, not dictators themselves. The USA consumes 25% of the world's oil. If we increase the amount of domestic oil, nuclear/solar/coal/wind power we use, we reduce demand and lower the price of oil and reduce Islamic Fascism's budget. If the United States demanded less of the world's energy (because it made its own), emerging economies worldwide would not be slowed by the over indulgence of American consumerism due to high prices from high demand. If it were not for oil, Russia would not have invaded Georgia with such determination and resolve. If you have an understanding about energy, you understand national security and foreign relations.
Energy is education:
If you talk about our energy prices and alternate fuel sources, you are talking about education. Local school districts require school buses, that require fuel. More and more money is shifted to transportation costs (with half-empty buses) every year which takes out money from the best performing teachers, and the classroom in general. We don't need more money for the local schools, we need to reduce transportation and heating costs for our schools. Not to mention the lumber that is cut with chainsaws, transported in trucks, and made in factories into paper to write on and make books. If you understand energy, you understand how it effects our children's education.
Energy is our social security:
If you talk about our energy prices and alternate fuel sources, you are talking about our social security dilemma. When you hear about record oil profits, ask yourself: "If we had invested social security taxes in energy stocks even three years ago, would I be worried about the status of social security?" Not to mention, as wind plants, gas pipelines, and coal plants are built, why would we not invest in our energy with our retirement funds. Rather than scorning energy companies for their profits, perhaps we should be taking advantage of them as well. Why aren't our 401K's invested in the oil companies? Not a single oil company is just invested in oil. They are energy companies. If you understand energy, you understand social security.
Energy is our national deficit:
If you talk about our energy prices and alternate fuel sources, you are talking about our budget deficits. If we were putting more people to work on our own oil fields off shore, building our own natural gas pipelines, building nuclear power plants or mining coal, we would be collecting more payroll, property, and other taxes. Because we import so much oil, we are not putting people to work and are missing out on all that revenue. We don't need to raise taxes, we need to keep them at the level they are at (or lower them), and put more people to work giving us energy. Oil companies have about a 50% tax rate as it is. We need them to do more business in the United States, not raise taxes on them. A smaller deficit leads to a stronger dollar, which leads to the cost of oil dropping even more. If energy/oil is cheaper, the cost of defending our nation is cheaper.
Oil will, for a long time to come, be a key part of our energy solution in America. An all of the above solution is required today. Each of these categories above could be elaborated on even more, and there are more categories I am sure. Increasing taxes does not create jobs, drilling for oil while building other energy infrastructure does. I would ask that you decide which candidates (at the local and national level) provide the best common sense and time sensitive energy solutions for America. Regardless of your personal 'key issue', it is tied to the price of our energy. Let's drill baby drill, lay pipeline and railway, and start today. From poverty (energy prices, home foreclosures, etc) to national defense (the price of the fuel in our tanks and fighters), energy is...
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