Never fear, Big Oil has a solution for you!

Yesterday a Senate Judiciary Committee brought Big Oil execs in to help answer questions about why the price of oil is so high. Their answer to the question outrages me:

The executives pushed the idea that large parts of the U.S. that are currently closed to drilling – like sections of Alaska, the Rocky Mountains and the continental shelf – should be opened.

“The place to start the free market is in our own country,” said one executive. [The drilling ban] sets the stage for OPEC to do what we are doing in our own country, and that is effectively limiting supplies.”

John Lowe, executive vice president of ConocoPhillips, said Congress should enact a balanced energy policy. In addition to lifting the drilling ban, such a policy could include measures to encourage alternative energy sources, remove the ethanol tariff, promote energy conservation, cut regulations around refining. “We must work together to find a real solution,” said Lowe. “U.S. oil companies should be viewed not as scapegoats, but as assets.”

The executives also named several things that Congress should not do, first among them being a hike in taxes or an undoing of the mergers of the late 1990s.

“Americans need companies that can effectively compete for access to new resources,” said Peter Robertson, vice chairman of Chevron. “Punitive measures that weakened us in the face of international competition are the wrong measures.”

The executives also frowned on a recently passed House bill giving the Justice Department the power to sue OPEC, saying it would have little effect in boosting production.

You should read the whole CNN article if you have time. My understanding of the Big Oil’s response though is that they should not be blamed for the higher gas prices. Rather, the fact that we are not drilling in Alaska and the Rocky Mountains is the real cause of the ‘pain at the pump’. Their main solution then: rape and pillage the land. Sucking it dry in the name of saving a buck or two. I mean really why pay any attention to environment stewardship and future generations when the solution to cheaper gas is so simple, right?

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of big business running my life. It bothers me that the rich and powerful have more of a say. Yes, I do not like the high prices of gas. But I am not willing to sacrifice the earth for cheaper prices. Not to mention that drilling is not the only solution to the problem. There are many other solutions that completely take Big Oil out of the equation. For instance run your car on used vegetable oil. It may not be as convenient, but I love the fact that it totally subverts power.

If you want some more information on converting your car, check out the video below of Aaron Weiss explaining how they did just that to their tour bus.

1. MaryAlive, May 27, 2008:

   So, I’m totally NOT bashing the idea of running off of veggie oil, because obviously its beneficial, and works well for mewithoutYou, Psalters, and others, but is it a sufficient substitute for gasoline? With the way we are using gasoline, will we be able to produce enough veggie oil to run a good portion of our engines off of? Or is it only meant to be one subsitute? For all I know there could very easily be enough left over veggie oil to run a good portion of our engines off of, but its just something we need to think about if we are going to propose it as a real possibility. (not to mention that a good solution MIGHT be learning to drive less, but that’s beside the point when trying to present veggie oil to non-supporters)
   Grace&Peace
   MaryAlive

2. nicole, May 28, 2008:

   Mary those are great points. I don’t think that veggie oil is really the answer at all. That is clear to see by the fact that only diesel engines can be converted to run off of it. And there area ll sorts of questions about what running your car off of oil will do to the food supply… But I do like the fact that it is one way to get around the power of big oil. I agree though that driving less is a great idea. I am excited about other creative ways folks will find to either run their cars on alternative energy sources or else get around not using their cars as much. I really feel like the place we are in as far as oil is concerned kind of sucks, but ultimately opens up a world of possible solutions. Thanks for your thoughts!

3. MaryAlive, May 28, 2008:

   I think we are on the same train of thought on this subject. And I agree that it will be cool to see how we will dream up solutions to the obvious problem of gas dependency.
   Thanks so much for the response:)

4. dave, May 31, 2008:

   Ok , I don’t want to sound as a typical capitolist…… but , ethanol , and greasal are food products. Now with ethanol , the problem is that the farmers (also corp farms) get encentives to produce for fuel. So a farmer would make more income for producing corn for fuel than for food. Then we get higher and higher food prices due to corn. At the present rate of consumption of fuel , there really isn’t enough corn to make this a realistic alternative. Waste veggie oil , is however a product that is to be discarded , so there for , in its true sense it shouldn’t impact the prices or availability of food. We need more domestic oil production right now. I know that this may ot sit well with the majority of people who read this , but for me it is true. Ideas like cutting down on driving are great , but what if you have to drive alot for work. My former job(was laid off recently) had me putting an average of 50,000 to 60,000 miles a year on my SUV , for me it would be impossible to reduce my driving and maintain that job. I do know that during hurricane katrina , the storm passed over many oil drilling platforms , none of which had accidents or leaked. I believe a responsible and cautious move to more drilling for the immediate increase in oil is a good thing. Again , for those of us who work for a living that requires us to drive so much , even a 50 cent drop in gas prices would help out alot. Also I know from some research(don’t have the links to yet post) the oil companies are making a smaller profit than most corps , on a percentage basis. but due to the amount of product sold , the pennies add up to billions. but our own government makes more “profit” off of oil than the companies that actually work to produce it. The short term need would seem to be to increase domestic production and wean off of foreign oil. but then we as a whole need to steer away from the “fake” alternatives like ethanol and “hybrids” and really shift to something more like hydrogen fuel cell technology. Very low impact on the earth , and renewable. but i do know that congress is as much to blame for the current prices of fuels , with all of their amazing regulations imposed on companies , there has been no real incentive to change , or drill , because there is little to no chance of making a profit. And like I said this will probably not sit well with some of you , but I am just voicing my take on the matter. Profit , however an evil ideal it may seem has always been a good driving force behind advances in technology. And like I said my bias comes from the “get er done” status of jobs , construction and telecommunications , where those of us in those fields are heavily dependant on trucks and transportation to make our work possible. I could always look into a new career , but in a state where jobs are getting scarce , it seems unrealistic at this point to change and take a job that would pay 1/4 of what i am making , which would basically put me on the streets , homeless until I could get an invatation to the local county “hotel”. I would just hope that we all could see that sometimes protecting the earth can go wrong , and cause a mass fear of “global warming” which intern , if you really look into it , you will find that there is a lot of profit to be made by corps from goiong green. carbon credits , … good ol Gore stands to make a killing with the latest round of terrorist green thinking, I am still open to alternative , and I don’t want my opinions to be taken wrong. The earth is important and protecting the beauty of it matters alot , but i believ that we can do both , drill and explore the resources here and keep the impact low.