Environmental Issue 3

I think this is going to be an ongoing series with me. Maybe I should write something about the Environment once a week? I don't know...at the rate it's going it might have to be a daily thing. I was reading the news yesterday (what else is new) and they were talking about a Senate bill that's going to be passed that will allow companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico. They said that by doing this it will create jobs (well yes jobs are generated by bringing business to any region) in an area that was devastated (understatement) by Hurricane Katrina. While I'm all for bringing business back to that area I have to question the type of business and what that means for everything that comes in contact with that business. I thought were were supposed to be moving away from gas/oil dependancy? I guess they mean foreign oil when they made that statement. I'm sorry but considering that we don't know all of the environmental ramifications caused by the devastation of Katrina, is it wise to drill there? I'm against off shore drilling to begin with. I think it's unnecessary and, people really, do we need more oil? I don't think so. With so many possibilities concerning alternative fuels, shouldn't we be encouraging those who are looking at alternative fuels to be bringing their business to most places in the U.S.? I will never understand that. I know, I know, politicians are right in the back pocket of most of the oil companies not only here but around the world. With conditions worsening in the Middle East and an impending war, shouldn't we be focused on moving away from oil?

Another problem I have for this is that by getting this bill signed is that it could lead to drilling elsewhere; namely the wildlife sanctuary in Alaska that the President and others have been trying to tap for a while now and also other places in the North. It's scary thought. We know how damaging oil can be when it leaks from ships and refineries that aren't up to date. It's not pretty. Why are they trying to push this through? Is it because of all that problems in the Middle East? Is it to help the cash flow in the Gulf States? What is it for? Why? Why not funnel more money into real solutions instead of perpetuating a problem that can be neutralized? That's a good question. I wish I had the answer. Once again I was reading and I read about this student in Amsterdam that developed a scooter run on hydrogen. How neat is that? See what I little incentive and creativity can do? It appears that most people aren't interested in finding alternatives but would rather just stick with what we've got. It's not fair to anyone. We know about all the problems facing the world. Shouldn't we be more inclined to help the Earth out a little...I mean we've done more than our fair share to destroy it. Without the Earth, we don't have anywhere else to go. A Moon Colony at this time is out of the question.