It reminds me of going to a garage sale and seeing someone trying to sell anything that is not tied down in their house on the cheap. Part of me feels sorry for the individual(s) selling their useful items or collectables or whatnot for a couple of bucks that won’t last them past the end of the week. The same feeling applies to our zeal for domestic drilling. We know it won’t solve but 5-6 years of our oil demand, 8-10 years from now. Nonetheless, we’ll tear up our coastlines and potentially cause harm to ecosystems that will take generations to restore.
And Mike Pence is helping to lead the way. MoveOn.org has recently responded to Pence and his fellow Republicans grandstanding with a radio ad. A local Ball State professor, a Move On member, has taken Pence to task for this desperate garage sale by directly calling him a liar. His logic is simple. If our own federal government agencies are telling us there is little oil available domestically and its impact on our oil demand is negligible, why do we think it’s a good thing? Move On and this BSU professor attributes it to politicians like Pence telling constituents otherwise.
I have to try and be a bit more positive and think it is just the wrong short term solution chosen by the GOP and a growing number of Democrats. Unfortunately this short term drilling solution, much like a desperate garage sale, will wind up at the same outcome. We will be left with a couple of dollars saved, an empty table, and a ravaged yard while Big Oil and their representatives in our government will be gleefully running back to their cars with an armload of deals.
