Obama is hardly alone in calling the argument that we can 'drill our way out of foreign dependence' flawed. Additional drilling is, at best, a
stop-gap measure. Should we exploit whatever resources we have? Of course. But is it a solution? No. Where was this solution after the 70's oil
crisis? Nowhere. 30+ squandered years. 5 Republican administrations. People love one-line simplistic solutions... even if they are baseless. This
is yet another. It is a nearsighted, political ploy. Played, btw, by people up to their butts in oil money. What a surprise.
Of course we tariff ethanol. It isn't Obama doing this. The US does this. Why? To keep our own ethanol industry from collapsing. What we don't
need is to add yet another foreign energy dependenciy. We're supposed to be ending the current one. Brazil is the largest exporter of ethanol.
They produce theirs from sugar cane because their climate and agriculural infrastructure favor cane. Ours does not. Not to mention, Brazil is raping
the rain forests to clear more land for cane. Not in anyone's longterm best interests.
Brazil and cane
Some people have tried to link the downturn in oil prices to the discussing about expadning drilling. How ludicrous. As usual the real reason is
more complex. The slowing economy has signficantly reduced demand. The sabre rattling against Iran quieted. And the speculators were put on notice.
Of course OPEC is lowering production. Why wouldn't they want higher prices if they can get them?
This argument has nothing to do with Obama. He is supporting the opinions of enery professionals that understand the importance of energy
diversification and independence. The oil companies, on the other hand, could give a rat's ass about independence. They're all about profits at
any cost. Keep in mind that these oil companies profit from foreign as well as domestic oil --- they do the refining and distribution. Why would
they want biofuels, solar or wind to take the place of the foreign oil?


