Lack of Domestic Energy

Production Hurting America

by Angie Many

   Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry was recently quoted in Greenwire as saying about oil: “that black stuff is hurting us.” 

   “John Kerry is dead wrong,” said House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA) said. “Oil doesn’t hurt Americans... In fact, this is exactly the kind of rhetoric and bad policy that has led to the outsourcing of good American energy jobs. Last year alone, the United States outsourced more than $100 billion worth of American jobs, economic growth, and national security to foreign countries for our energy needs. Americans are left with a supply and demand imbalance that creates higher prices at the pump and longer waits on the unemployment line.”

   Energy is the lifeblood of the economy, yet Kerry remains opposed to environmentally-safe oil drilling in ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Reserve), despite the fact that wildlife has not been harmed by previous Alaskan drilling and that petroleum production was permitted in founding legislation of the Reserve. “The American people deserve a president who isn’t a hostage to the radical environmental community and who knows that what’s hurting us is red tape and frivolous environmental litigation -- not American oil,” said Representative Barbara Cubin (R-WY), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals.

Even the Clinton Administration

recognized the benefits of U.S. oil production.

   In Greenwire. a Kerry spokesman stated that the Senator voted against more energy production in ANWR seven times “because it was a joke” and ‘would not have cut dependency on foreign nations’. However, a 2003 study by the National Defense Council Foundation found that ANWR’s contains approximately 10.3 billion barrels of oil, and tapping this resource would create more than 2.2 million jobs across all 50 states -- roughly 10,000 of those in Kerry’s home state of Massachusetts.

   Representative Jim Gibbons (R-NV), Vice Chairman of the House Resources Committee, added: “Our energy demands continue to grow, yet we are more dependent on foreign oil than ever before. We have tremendous energy production capability right here in the United States that remains untapped. The do-nothing attitude promoted by special interests groups prohibits us from domestic energy production and from creating new jobs. That’s what is really hurting America.”

   Most people don’t realize that less than half of every barrel of oil we use in the United States is turned into gasoline. (See sidebar.) The majority becomes the key ingredient in thousands of products Americans use everyday. Massachusetts alone consumes 14 million gallons of oil per day for these and other needs.

   Even the Clinton Administration recognized the benefits of U.S. oil production. In its 1999 report, “Environmental Benefits of Advanced Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Technology,” the Clinton Administration asserts that for the 21st century, energy production, environmental progress, and economic vitality must all go hand-in hand. The report noted that: 1. Public awareness of significant and impressive environmental benefits from energy technology advances remains limited; 2. Myths that are perpetuated about oil “threaten to block progress on important environmental issues...  it is vital that we debunk these myths so that the public can most effectively address the environmental needs of today”; and 3. U.S. dependence on foreign oil has increased to record levels. As that dependence increases, “Americans lose jobs, tax revenues, royalty income... changes that also hurt our environment -- reducing the capability of industry to meet demand in the U.S., increasing tanker traffic and the possibility of spills, and reducing capacity to deploy new technologies for environmental performance.”

A Few of the Products

Made from OIL!

Antihistamines

Antiseptics

Artificial hearts

Aspirin

Bandages

Cameras

Candles

CD players

Clothing

Computers

Dentures

Deodorant

Diapers

Digital Clocks

Fertilizers

Food preservatives

Food storage bags

Glue

Golf Balls

House paint

Insecticides

Lipstick

Medical equipment

Pacemakers

Pantyhose

Perfumes

Photo film

Safety glass

Shampoo

Shaving cream

Contact Lenses

Surgical equipment

Syringes

Telephones

Toothpaste

Vitamins