The oil companies are claiming that an oversupply of crude is lowering gas prices and hurting their profits and employees; boo hoo! But that doesn’t keep them from demanding the right to practice fracking everywhere, and now they want to drill in the Atlantic Ocean.

Big oil wanted the Department of the Interior to auction off drilling rights off the coast of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It declined.

But don’t start praising President Obama just yet; he says he is considering allowing limited drilling in the Arctic Ocean.

An American Petroleum Institute spokesman said: “The decision appeases extremists,” API CEO Jack Gerard said in a statement. “This is not how you harness America’s economic and diplomatic potential.”

Extremists? Who the hell is he talking about? If it’s clear thinking people all over the world who want to save our environment for future generations, then 95 percent of the world’s population are extremists.

Fracking has been allowed virtually everywhere and anywhere, and is the most dangerous practice in history. It contaminates underground water with more than 600 chemicals; some of which are proven carcinogens. In addition, areas where fracking occurs have experienced increased seismic activity.

The oil industry continues to receive tax incentives; in other words, you are paying them to drill. They complain if too much oil saturates the market, and then complain when they are forbidden to drill in areas where they have previously caused environmental disasters. (Has anyone forgotten the ‘Deepwater Horizon?’)

Corporations must become American companies and be denied their policies of profit first and people and the environment be damned.

Environmental groups celebrated the decision. Jacqueline Savitz, Oceana’s vice president for the U.S., called it a “courageous” move that will aid in the battle against climate change.

“It will prevent oil spills and coastal industrialization, it makes seismic testing unnecessary and it will help promote the clean energy solutions that we so desperately need,” she said in a statement.

The truth is that the petroleum industry will not suffer from this defeat; they have a glut of oil not experienced since the 1960’s.

When Sarah Palin said “drill, baby, drill,” she proved that she had no concern for the State of Alaska or the environment. How she was elected still amazes me. If Alaskans truly understood who she was, her opponent would have won in a landslide.

The oil companies must be controlled. For far too many years they have had free reign to profit from their destructive practices.

The ability to remove our dependency on fossil fuels is here, but it will take a commitment from the American people to reject machines and factories which continue to pollute our environment.

The EPA was created by Richard Nixon, a Republican president. He saw the need to make a commitment to our nation’s future; to our children, grandchildren, and even our great-grandchildren. If today’s Pretend-Republicans want to campaign under the party’s banner, they must respect the efforts of their predecessors.

Our planet must be the priority; our natural resources are disappearing.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

Source

Photo Courtesy of David Wilson

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