Think of big picture to solve energy crisis

Jerry Bitts, Las Vegas

Friday, Aug. 8, 2008 | 2:03 a.m.

A new compromise bill in the Senate has the Democrats giving in to the Republicans and Big Oil on the issue of offshore drilling rights. In return, the Democrats would get rid of some Big Oil tax breaks and get a lot of money to develop alternative fuels. It is hoped that if the bill goes through the oil companies will not drill in the Gulf because it is not to their advantage — it would pollute the environment, and it would not lower gas prices.

The United States consumes 25 percent of the world’s energy but has only 2 percent of its oil reserves. We cannot consume fossil fuels at this rate and become energy independent. According to the Energy Information Administration, Gulf drilling would not be productive until 2030, and the effect on prices would be minimal.

Hurricanes in the Gulf have caused nearly as much spillage as the Exxon Valdez catastrophe. It is also true that new refineries will not help. Most of them are owned by Big Oil anyway, so why would the companies want to build refineries at their expense?

To lower gas prices, the president should open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Congress should close the “Enron loophole” that permits electronic trading in the dark. Then, because there is no “free market” in oil, we would have only OPEC and Big Oil to blame for the price of gas. Even then, alternative energy is the only way to gain independence and to control global warming.