Energy from Drilling, or from Agriculture?
Josh Skandar
One of the constant complaints about biofuels is that they simply aren't economically feasible. They aren't competitive with petroleum without heavy government subsidies.
Whoever said the petroleum industry doesn't require government subsidies?
How much of Congress' time is devoted to energy policy, to international regulations aimed at protecting the flow of oil, tax considerations and other regulations to insure that the oil companies can continue drilling?
Several federal departments-- particularly State-- spend a great deal of our nation's resources on maintaining energy transportation to our shores. We don't pay that at the pump.
We frequently build partnerships with other countries, not based on mutual priorities, but on economic realities, which means oil. Don't those short-term choices carry long-term costs?
Then there's the Pentagon. Who could accurately calcuate the expenditures the Department of Defense spends, in maintaining military bases, moving troops and war machines (such as aircraft carriers) into positions selected to defend our dependence on oil?
Look at the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Regardless of how you feel about the wars, consider this: without our dependence on oil, would we be involved in that region?
For that matter, how much presence would we have, or need, in the center of the Islamic World, without oil? Would extremists attack us? Would so much of the Muslim world hate us?
This is not an attack of our current energy policy, nor is it a defense of armed radicals. It's just a call for a more accurate calculation of real costs.
That's not a criticism of oil, nor the companies who produce it. Oil was a historical necessity, and biofuels are new.
But when we talk about the costs of a product, we need to consider extrinsic costs, too. If America is to remain strong, all possibilities need to be examined carefully. Natural fuels won't replace fossil fuels quickly, but they give us choices in the world; they give us more sources, more countries to buy fuel stocks from. Every country in the world produces agricultural products.
And if we can decrease our dependence on oil, our nation can devote more of expenditures, our attention, and our international efforts toward goals that will serve us in the future, as well as today.
Even without the recent increases in gas prices, biofuels may already be cheaper than petroleum.
Article written by Josh Skandar, a supporter of booksXYZ.com, the on-line
http://booksXYZ.com/ Bookstore supporting education. Josh is currently recommending "Blooming Trees & Shrubs of the Coastal South," a "must read" for
http://booksxyz.com/profile3450084.php) southern gardening. Get your own completely
http://www.uberarticles.com/?id=35252&b=79 unique content version of this article.
