Time to Get Off of Oil?

By now everyone is aware of the tragic accident of the Deepwater Oil Well in the Gulf of Mexico and the subsequent leakage of massive amounts of oil released into the Gulf waters. Daily news reports continue to point out to failures in efforts to stop it as those who have been long opposed to drilling America’s own oil for energy use increase their call for a total ban on all oil use.

The left winged group Moveon.org has sent out the call for what they are calling “Oil Spill Vigil” that begins,

“By Tuesday, the oil spill in the Gulf will have been gushing out for 50 days straight. It might already be five times larger than the Exxon Valdez, and now BP says that the spill probably won't be stopped until August.

Meanwhile, our political leaders in Washington aren't even talking about the real solution—getting off oil once and for all, and fully powering our economy with clean energy. It's clear we need a major public outcry to make this horrible tragedy a turning point.

So on Tuesday—day 50 since the spill—we're organizing emergency Oil Spill Vigils to demand an end to our dependence on oil, call for stepped-up efforts to end the spill, and stand in solidarity with all those affected in the Gulf.”

Note, they are not calling for ending America’s dependence on foreign oil, but a complete end to its use, showing they have no idea just how petroleum use effects our lives daily and for the better.

Moveon continues,

“We'll gather together, read stories from Gulf residents affected by the spill, and observe a moment of silence. All you need to do is find a nearby public location for people to gather, invite friends, and tell the local media about it. We'll help you recruit people and give you all the guidance you need.

By standing together at events coast-to-coast, we can make sure lawmakers understand that the American people are demanding bold action to prevent disasters like this from happening again.”

If Moveon.org and other groups so adamantly crying out “get off of oil” had an inkling of how oil use benefits our daily lives, they would be calling for an end to the severe restrictions on domestic drilling of oil that has been in place for decades now.

As we know, left winged groups aren’t known for the thinking abilities and react emotionally “in the moment,” instead of actually joining in on productive measures to help clean up such tragic accidents or to help bring the leakage to an end.

The ongoing spill from this accident cannot be marginalized nor should it be, it is creating a mess and the inaction and inattention paid to it by the current administration, who finds vacations in Chicago or golf games more important, allows the tragedy to grow worse than it should be.

Instead, we are shown the comment of one Republican in an email sent out by Jon Vogel of the DCCC as indicative of all Republicans, with no mention from him that other Republicans joined Democrats in opposing that comment.

Moveon indicates the leaking well might not be stopped until August. History shows that is a very generous estimate as a 1979 oil well accident in the Gulf of Mexico took some 10 months to stop, and it was only in 200 feet of water, not nearly a mile deep.

But it should also be noted that it was capped eventually, the Gulf cleaned and recovered and the environment survived. Mexico’s refusal to pay damages due to the accident of their well is not comparable since BP has stated time and again they will pay damages.

What remains unanswered and unasked by our so-called media, is why neither BP nor the Obama administration is using the Supertanker vacuuming that the Saudi’s used in the early 1990’s to clean-up a massive oil spill in the waters off of their nation and that not only might have kept oil from reaching the shores of Louisiana, but recovered much of it as well.

Instead, we see and hear all of the finger-pointing as the spill now seems to be used to help implement more restrictive legislation and raise taxes, further wrecking the already struggling economy.

Left out of the discussion is what do we use to power our energy needs, while seeking any alternative energy sources? Alternative methods such as solar and wind power have come under fire by the very same people that demand they be constructed, in areas away from their homes.

Ignored by those demanding we stop the use of oil is how our nation often responds to emergencies and disasters around the globe, all powered by oil: Fueling “the Worlds EMT”.

Demonizing the oil companies and accusing them of putting profits ahead of safety concerns over not having what is known as Acoustic Shutoff Valves installed is little more than the usual political posturing we see and appears to be more agenda driven, since no mention is made of the unreliability of such methods of activation, nor do they account that the failure wasn’t in the method of activation, but the failure of the valve itself to close.

And still, those crying “get off of oil” give no viable solution or alternative that would suit our energy needs, nor do I see any of them not driving, turning off lights, flying in airplanes or forgoing any of the multitude of every day products shown in the link above, all derived from petroleum.

Holding “vigils” and “moments of silence” might make a liberal feel better, but they accomplish absolutely nothing in helping to curtail the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, nor do they supply one ounce of the energy needs of our nation.

They only stir up emotions used to further the socialist agenda of total takeover of our industries by a leftist government.