Government & oil

The following is something that I wrote in response to a discussion over this story that I thought I would share.

The idea of the government taking over the oil refineries in this country is a stupid one. Not only is it stupid, it would never pass. This is a great example of politicians at work, saying something to make the public think that they are actually doing something. The government has no business running the oil industry.

That having been said, the government does have a right and an obligation to regulate the oil industry and keep it in check. The first thing that should be done is to set one standard for refineries to use in making of fuel. I would say the best way to do that would be to find the strictest standard in the nation and use it. Make all 50 states comply with that standard. By doing so, we have now freed up resources that the oil industry can use in R&D to help get us off of foreign energy dependence. Next we do some TEMPORARY drilling in ANWAR and off of the Gulf of Mexico. I stress temporary because we CANNOT drill our way to energy independence and those who think we can are living in la-la-land. Then we set up a federal mandate that requires all energy industries, automobile manufacturers, and energy delivery industries (i.e. gas stations) to work together to develop new energy sources, new energy products, and new infrastructure to support them.

We have the tools, technology, and talent to break our addiction to oil, but until now the public outcry has not been enough to force the changes that are needed. Too many people make too much money off of the current system and until the populous is near revolution (i.e. extremely pissed off…which is not far away), nothing meaningful will change. We’ve all known for years that this is a bad situation, but we were comfortable in it. Now that situation isn’t so comfortable anymore and people are ready for a change. Let’s pray that it happens sooner rather than later.