Tough Choices: Weighing Energy and the Environment

President Bush may have been right when he said "America is addicted to oil" in his State of the Union Address on January 31, 2006.

In 2005, the U.S. used over 20 million barrels a day, with about 60 percent of that oil imported from abroad.

But since oil is a freely traded product that is bought and sold all over the world by private firms, the U.S. can’t reduce imports from a specific region. We have to decrease imports in general to lessen our dependence on the Middle East. In other words, reducing oil from the Middle East means reducing oil consumption.

For that reason, conservation and energy alternatives are crucial. In his speech, Bush explained that he would like to reduce the total daily U.S. oil demand by about 5.26 million barrels via energy alternatives like hybrid cars with rechargeable batteries, hydrogen-powered cars, and new ethanol products.

But Congress’ latest energy bill doesn’t focus on conservation or alternative energy.

Senate approves drilling

On August 1, 2006, the Senate passed a bill that would allow for oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, an area protected by a 24-year old drilling moratorium.

The legislation would open 8.3 million acres of federal waters that are thought to hold as much as 5.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 1.3 billion barrels of crude oil. Experts estimate that that the natural gas could heat and cool six million homes for the next fifteen years and that the oil could meet U.S. needs for two months.

Oil companies are excited to bid, and 37.5 percent of the money from drilling leases would go to coastal states like Florida and Louisiana. For that reason, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) outspokenly supported the bill. Landrieu hopes that the drilling money would aide her struggling state, still devastated by the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina ravaged refineries on the Gulf Coast, and some are still out of operation. And on August 6, 2006, BP, a huge oil company, announced the shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska because of a leak in the pipeline there. The largest in the nation, Prudhoe Bay accounts for about 8 percent of all U.S. oil production. There is no timeline for repair. For many, this makes new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico even more vital.

Eighteen Democrats joined 53 Republicans in voting for the bill. Senator Olympia Snowe (Maine) was the only Republican to vote against it. Snowe explained to the press that the bill should include fuel conservation provisions.

Remembering the environment

Those opposed to the bill say that it encourages the United States’ dependence on fossil fuel because it does nothing to promote alternative energies. Further, they argue that an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could devastate its ecosystem and potentially ruin Gulf coastlines. Since tourism supports the Florida economy, Floridians are particularly concerned about the measure, which allows for drilling 125 miles off of the Gulf Coast.

The House of Representatives passed a similar measure that allows for drilling 100 miles off of the Gulf Coast. But many Senate Democrats say that their support requires the stricter regulations in the Senate version.

Senate versus House

As opposed to Democrats versus Republicans, this legislative battle is between the Senate and the House. The House bill gives states the power to override the federal moratorium and allow drilling within 125 miles of their coasts, while the Senate bill extends the 125-mile rule to the year 2022.

Oil industry officials are hoping that the Senate-House committee, or, the conference committee that settles the differences between the bills, will maintain the House bill, but Senators warn that an altered version of their bill will not pass in their chamber.

Energy as security, but forever tied to the environment

Although energy is forever tied to the environment, President Bush did not outline energy as an environmental issue in his speech, but rather a security measure.

He talked about greater security coming from energy independence, which many say is not possible because the global economy makes supply and demand a worldwide affair.

For more on this, check out WomenMatter’s radio show on energy.

For more about conservation, click here.

What do you think?

How do you manage the price of energy and the environmental tradeoffs?

You can still contact your representatives about this bill. Your input matters.

Your representatives in Congress DO care what you think. Especially now -- 2006 is an election year and many representatives will be looking to reconnect with their constituents. Let your congressmen and women know what you think! Give your senators a piece of your mind! To find your reps, click here.

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Article Posted on: 8/11/2006