Published: August 05, 2008 10:21 pm            

Big oil will prosper no matter what breaks given

EDMOND — To the Editor:

Who has it right? Drill now? If Congress does pass lifting coastal waters drilling ban, they would leave it up to each individual state. California and Florida both still would not allow drilling off their coast line and this is where big oil wants to drill. Have you studied a map? Florida’s coast line is one third of the East Coast line while on the West Coast, California would control over two-thirds of the West Coast.

Every available off shore drilling rig already is in use and booked up for the next three to five years therefore there cannot be any immediate off shore drilling.

Nuclear reactors I am all for when they find a safe place to store and take care of the spent fuels and waste for the next 10,000 years. Which state gets the next nuclear waste repository, because we will need at least two locations and Yucca Mountain isn’t even ready yet. Which state gets the second nuclear waste repository? I don’t want one in my back yard.

Oil shale is in the northern 48 states and Canada. To get the oil out of shale takes a lot of steam which means a lot of fresh water, which then is contaminated. How and who will then make that precious water drinkable again and who will trust them to do so? Good clean drinking water will become even more rare and precious.

Clean coal technology we do need but we don’t want more coal fired businesses until we have that technology. I laugh every time I hear the phrase clean coal, look at China or the mercury contamination levels in the world tuna supply.

Wind power, clean and little to no waste with no environmental damage. Solar energy, clean and little to no waste with no environmental damage. Renewable bio fuels such as corn, sugar cane, switch grass and who knows what else, cleaner burning and a plus for our environment. Electric cars, clean, little to no waste and almost no harm to the environment.

We need them all but I know which way I want the government to spend my tax dollars. It is not just our dependence on foreign oil but the power and hold that big oil has over my life that I want to see broken. Big oil will prosper without tax breaks or special compensations.

Bill West

Edmond

        

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