I was an environmentalist long before it was in vogue.  I have also run a landscaping business for the past 30 years – a business that requires the use of fossil fuels.  Because of my desire to be as eco-friendly and financially efficient as possible, I am very careful not to waste the gasoline that my machines need to run.  I am pleased, therefore, that each of my large, commercial mowers is equipped with a simple feature – a shut off valve from the fuel tank to the engine.  Should there ever be an engine problem or ruptured fuel line I can, with one quick turn of the valve, stop the flow of gas and contain it in the fuel tank. 

So let’s see…the government allows oil companies to drill off our coast lines, huge pipes are driven into the ocean floor until they reach the oil fields, and then the oil is pumped to platforms on the ocean’s surface where it is loaded into huge tankers. 

Now there is an accident.  The platform explodes, workers are killed, and oil from deep beneath the ocean floor gushes into the Gulf of Mexico.  Within days the oil reaches the Gulf Coast with devastating effects on the eco system as well as the economy.  Now why didn’t the oil company simply shut off the valve on the pipe beneath the ocean’s surface - you know, like I do on my lawn mowers? Apparently because there isn’t one.  Apparently neither the company nor our government felt it was necessary.  So right now, as I write this article, oil continues to spill into the Gulf.  No one knows how many gallons per day are spilling nor do they know how to stop it. 

Here is the “politics of oil” as I understand it.  Most Republicans have favored offshore drilling.  Most Democrats have traditionally opposed such drilling.  Recently, however, President Obama announced that he favored offshore drilling.  That announcement then prompted most Democrats to decide that offshore drilling is alright after all.  Then came the accident and President Obama now appears to be against offshore drilling until new safety standards are set.  That has now prompted most Democrats to return to their original stance against offshore drilling.  I am not sure where the Republicans now stand but I suspect they are in favor of offshore drilling unless President Obama proposes it.  I am quite certain that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats care to know my position on offshore drilling but I will state my views anyway. 

I was against offshore drilling when the Republicans favored it.  I continued to oppose it when President Obama began to favor it.  Now, after the accident, I oppose it even more vigorously and if they find a really safe way to drill I will still oppose it. 

No matter how much oil is found it will never be enough.  We will still need to purchase huge amounts from countries that hate us and they will continue to use our own money to fund the terrorists who wish us harm.  The only answer to our energy problems is to rid ourselves of oil addiction and commit ourselves to a massive development of solar and wind power.  We have the ingredients already and they are all free and inexhaustible.  All we need is the will to perfect the technology.  How I wish that an advocate would emerge: someone non political who can capture our imaginations regardless of political persuasion.  It can’t be an Al Gore type. He is a lightning rod and no matter what he says half of the population will oppose it simply because he was the one to say it.  Further, I believe he is a phony who urges everyone to be environmentally responsible while flying the world over is his private jet and then returning to his 30.000 square foot home.

I wish that Thomas Friedman, a bright man who makes much sense, could lead the crusade for wind and solar.  But alas, his ties to the New York Times and its alleged liberal bias make him an automatic reject to huge numbers of people. Still there must be someone out there with reason, intelligence, innovation and the ability to communicate who can step forward and convince people of all political persuasions that the time for petroleum has ended and the time for wind and solar has arrived.