Those that know me, know that I’m all about environmental issues, but I’m really getting tired of things like this. As long as there’s a profit to be made, extracting oil offshore, it will continue. When the return on investment fails to cover the costs of extraction, it will stop.
It really is that simple.
You want to stop offshore drilling? Then the price of oil has to drop.
How do we get that to happen? Well, my college economics class taught me that reducing demand reduces price.
Stop whining about offshore drilling, if you’re driving a vehicle that uses gasoline. Instead get a vehicle that doesn’t use it at all (Leaf, i8, Tesla, Bolt [later this year] etc), or at the very least, get a car that only uses it rarely (Volt, ELR, C-Max Energi, Fusion Energi, etc). There are PLENTY of vehicles out there that are viable, even while charging infrastructure is being built. I’m living proof of that. Of course, this isn’t a viable approach for large families or those who live in apartments, YET. There WILL be viable solutions for those people as well, ONCE THE AUTO MANUFACTURERS SEE CONSUMER DEMAND FOR THESE VEHICLES INCREASE.
When oil prices collapsed recently, many of my friends in the oil patch lost their jobs. That happened to me, back in the mid-80’s. I left the oil and gas industry, in 1985, and never considered going back to it. Fortunately, my job skills were transferable to other industries. Many in oil & gas today, don’t have transferrable skills. We have to also find ways to reemploy those workers, in other industries. This will entail a cost, for which we must have a plan. I’ve long believed that, due to the rapidly changing world, we must all continue to learn new skills throughout our careers.
Once you’ve changed the vehicle you drive, follow up by selecting an electricity provider that offers 100% renewable energy (Green Mountain, Beyond Power, etc) or install solar panels (or wind turbine, if you have the space…) at your home.
To change the world, you must first change yourself, not try to force the change on others.
Walk the walk, BEFORE you talk the talk.
Every time there’s another oil spill, I post something like this on the Sierra Club discussion board and elsewhere:
If you buy gasoline, you are complicit in oil spills.
Every gallon of gas you buy raises the risk of another oil spill and contributes to the filthy, disease causing air we breathe in North Texas.
BUY A PLUG-IN CAR, either a plug-in hybrid like the Chevy Volt, or an all electric car like a Tesla or the Nissan LEAF.