Spin doctors

Isn't it time for the so-called conservatives to start being honest with the public - after all, they're the ones who've gotten us into the mess we're in, what with 8 years of the Bush administration, a republican controlled congress (at least until the 2006 elections), and 7 of 9 supreme court justices appointed by republican presidents. It's time for some personal responsibility on the part of the right wing, not to mention a little honesty.

Instead we are getting yet more spin. The latest talking point in the corporate controlled media is that we need to be drilling in all our wilderness areas, such as ANWR (Alaska National Wildlife Refuge). Unfortunately, this not only will despoil some of the last great places we have, but more importantly simply will not solve the problem. The Department of Energy estimates that there are only about 10 billion barrels of oil (in the BEST case) in ANWR. While that sounds like a lot, and on a certain level it is, it's actually only about 1 year's supply of oil for the US. Moreover, it would take 10 years to get to this oil even if we started drilling tomorrow. But there's something even more important that the corporate media isn't discussing, namely that there are much easier ways to get the equivalent of 10 billion barrels of oil, in fact even more than that, and they don't involve drilling!

Oil without drilling, and much sooner than 10 years?!

What could be better than 10 billion barrels of oil? Well, how about billions of barrels of oil that never run out, don't involve trashing our last great wild places, and also help us to clean our air? Sound too good to be true? Well, we're talking about the low hanging fruit here. All fruit growers and farmers know a simple truism: always pick the low hanging fruit first, then worry about the stuff at the top of the tree that requires a stepladder. The low hanging fruit is simple: increase the fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. There may be other low-hanging fruit to be plucked as well - for example, lowering the speed limit; for every 10 mph reduction in speed, cars typically get about 7 percent better fuel economy.

If it's so simple, why hasn't it been done? Well, it's quite sad: the republicans (and a few choice democrats) always block such legislation or at least eviscerate the bills before they're finalized and signed into law. Did you know that the average fuel efficiency, in miles per gallon, for cars has actually declined slightly over the last 30 years?! This was allowed to happen by the pro-business elements in congress and the white house, namely the republicans and a handful of corporate-controlled democrats. The last time we raised fuel economy standards in the late 70's and early 80's (Carter administration), it is estimated that we saved approximately 10 million barrels of oil a day - truly a gift that keeps on giving (because the "well" never runs dry)! Ask your congressman/congresswoman where they stand on raising fuel economy standards to 40 mpg, and tell them you won't hear one word about drilling anywhere until we pick the low hanging fruit. If they oppose picking the low hanging fruit, then find out how much money they get from oil company lobbyists, and "follow the money."

Personal ways to fight high oil prices

Finally, you can always buy a more efficient car for yourself. I suggest the Toyota Prius hybrid, which gets close to 50 miles per gallon. You can then laugh at all the silly folks filling up their behemoth SUV's and pickups and smile as they light those 20 and 50 dollar bills with a match. Better yet, we can get off our duffs and ride a bike to work! We live in Socorro, a very bike friendly town - you can get just about anywhere in Socorro by bike in around 10 to 15 minutes, max. Moreover, biking might help some of us lose that belly we've been working on all winter long.

Yes, but didn't congress recently pass new fuel economy standards?

Some astute readers may, by now, have scratched their heads and said, "but I read something recently about increased fuel economy standards passed in congress." This is true, the standards were recently updated for the first time in about 30 years. However, true to form, the republicans and some choice democrats gutted most of the teeth from the new standards prior to its passage. For example, the republicans thwarted the main intent of the standards by having a sliding scale by vehicle weight. Instead of all cars and trucks having to adhere to the same standards, the sliding scale allows lower fuel economy for heavier vehicles like large luxury cars, SUV's, and trucks. This essentially gives large cars, SUV's, and trucks a free pass, rather than requiring them to meet the same standards as regular passenger cars, despite the fact that almost all such vehicles are used as normal passenger cars. So, astute readers, the fact of the matter is - we still need new legislation mandating 40 mpg (or better!) for all cars, trucks, and SUV's. But your elected republicans and a handful of democrats refuse to do this, because they'd rather keep getting large cash contributions from the oil, gas, and auto industries.