A Crude Awakening
Submitted by M. Townsend
I recently read a piece about the oil spill disaster in the Gulf. Predictably, it was lambasting the efforts of environmentalists – reactionaries though many of them may be – to “put the nail in the coffin” of offshore drilling in the wake of this crisis. They want to seal the fate of that enterprise in the hope of avoiding another environmental disaster and furthering our efforts to explore alternative energies. I have no sympathy for envirofascists, those who would support any kind of regulation aimed at curbing our ecological footprint, and who base their zealous commitments on shaky scientific ground. Cap-and-trade proponents and supporters of the kind of deals that would have come out of last year’s Copenhagen conference fall into that category. However, I can’t jump on the popular conservative bandwagon that parrots the “drill, baby, drill” crowd, either.
I don’t know how to say this without eliciting the ire of so many “conservatives” – my fellow patriots and countrymen – who seem to see reason and common sense in every issue but this one: oil. Face it, folks, oil is a dying energy source; it’s net quantity on this planet is dwindling at an astronomical pace, and regardless of whatever possible environmental effects it may (or may not) impart to our planet through its burning, the negative impact of disasters like this spill and a hundred others throughout history make it a bane for the ecosystem that we are all a part of.
As one who lives in a state (NC) affected by Obama’s decree to “allow” drilling offshore, I was dismayed and even outraged that he would allow that step to be taken, and I can’t express the relief that I felt when I found out that his proposal wouldn’t take effect for several years. Ironic as it may sound (and I am almost ashamed to say it), I was almost glad that this BP spill occurred – perhaps it will highlight the dangers of more drilling for (as Valdez highlighted the dangers of shipping) crude oil.
Don’t get me wrong, I am as adamantly against this twinkle-toe cap-and-tax bill as I am against more drilling. Electric cars are hardly a solution for two reasons: one, the electricity still has to come from somewhere, and two, electric cars (because of their motors and their batteries) are going to eat up rare earth metals, an already scarce natural resource (for more on this, see: http://combustiblecogitations.blogspot.com/2009/09/rare-metals-alternative-energy.html); hydrogen cars are a non-starter since hydrogen is a carrier – not a producer – of energy, and increased emissions standards won’t make one iota of difference in our dependence on oil in general. All these proposals are absurd pipe-dreams and inconsequential with regard to the actual hard facts of our situation. I think both the cap-and-trade scheme and proposals for additional drilling are equally dangerous (even if they are so in different ways), and they both constitute unjust proposals being used as political ploys to gain favor from some block of the special interests or the public, or as quid pro quo favors to bribe opposing party members (isn’t that why Obama offered the southeastern states his “drilling for oil” carrot, so the Republicans would scratch his back when it came to the Cap-and-Trade initiative?). Screw the politics, people! This is our future we’re talking about; our children will have to live with the consequences of our petty bickering and our selfish arrogance. For cryin’ out loud, there’s a better way, if only we would look at the situation honestly and consider what’s best for America in the long run instead of what entices the short-term appetites of our narrow-minded, self-interested egos.
It’s time that Americans faced the facts squarely and realized that being a “conservative” is not equivalent to being a Luddite-ostrich. We advocate for the free market, but one of the tenets of the free market system is the progress of advancing technology and the triumph of the superior idea over the outdated and obsolete. Well, friends, this is one of those instances where we are clinging stubbornly – and blindly – to the status quo, resisting change when, in fact, change is needed.
Why is it needed? For one, because oil and water don’t mix; there are inherent and foolhardy dangers involved in drilling for and shipping oil, and if those dangers can be avoided, they should be. Second, because, as I said above, we (and the rapidly developing nations of the world such as China and India) are demanding more and more of a commodity that is subject to a sharply decreasing supply and is, ultimately, irreplaceable. Thirdly, while we will almost surely need some quantity of oil for transportation energy into the indefinite future, there exist far better options – albeit not the options that are being touted by our politicians – that are both environmentally friendly and non-polluting, and are completely renewable. In addition, these alternatives are cheap. “What?” you ask… well, let me elaborate, if I may.
The primary alternative energy that I have in mind here (for transportation) is ethanol, but before you throw up your hands and say “Been there, done that, and it doesn’t work,” might I point out that I have done a great deal of personal research into this avenue and there is a way – a beautiful, clean, and cheap way. I suggest you check out this link to the website of a start-up company called Coskata: http://www.coskata.com/.
Briefly, they have patented a three-step process that turns any (that’s right, ANY) biodegradable matter (biomass, as it’s called) into 98% pure ethyl alcohol for less than $2.00/gal. What’s most important about their achievement is that it will not have to affect the feed stocks such as wheat or corn that humans and livestock alike rely upon for sustenance. Their process can turn anything from broom straw and grass clippings to bark and mulch to trash and old tires into the same useful, clean energy source: ethanol.
The website will fill you in on the details of their unique process: the “gasification” of the biomass, the utilization of bacteria to convert the gasses into the compound ethanol molecule, and the proprietary membrane sieves that separate out the water and purify the ethanol for use as a fuel. The point is that with a little scientific ingenuity and the motivation to move beyond the 19th century, we can – and should – do better than oil. Leave that black gold for the Arabs, and while they’re ecstatically dancing around their state-owned oil wells in celebration of a resource that will be dried up in thirty years, we’ll be well on our way to eternal energy independence – the real deal.
C’mon, folks, get with me on this. Just because we internalize and exemplify the highest ideals of the 18th century doesn’t mean we have to be stuck in a mode of doing everything the way it was done 200 years ago. Let’s move on, grafting the best from our own time onto the best from theirs. Patriots, indeed: if our creed is freedom, we should be the greatest champions of America’s genuine freedom from the tether of crude oil, both foreign and domestic.
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Milo Townsend is an independent freelance writer, a self-proclaimed advocate of Constitutional government and individual liberty, and a regular North Carolinian with a family, friends and a day-to-day job as a carpenter. He holds a BA in Philosophy & Religion from the University of NC at Wilmington. You can visit his personal blog, Combustible Cogitations, at http://combustiblecogitations.blogspot.com/. He’s also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/milot2.
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