http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/11/21/Doc-Hastings-Unleashing-Americas-Energy-Economic-Potential-on-Federal-Lands
As I've mentioned before in this blog, the United States' oil production has been on the rise for the past several years, and the U.S. is expected to overtake Saudi Arabia in oil production by 2015. So it's safe to say that the U.S. is definitely headed in the right direction in the energy market. But the U.S. is still nowhere near its production capacity for oil, as thousands of acres of oil rich federal lands remain untapped, meaning that the current energy boom could be even greater if the Federal Government would allow more drilling and offer more leases on federal land. Currently, oil drilling has only been increasing on private and state lands, but the U.S. would be missing a huge opportunity by not drilling on federal lands.
The Article explains that H.R. 1965, the Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act, a bill currently being considered in the House of Representatives, would authorize the opening up of more onshore federal lands for oil production, and protect land currently designated for oil production. According to the author, The Obama Administration "is actively and purposely keeping these resources off-limits." While that comment may seem biased for a news article, it appears to be fairly truthful considering the facts. For the past four years, the U.S. has seen the least amount of acreage of federal land leased for oil production since 1988. In addition to this, the average time taken to obtain a drilling permit for federal land by private companies under the Obama Administration is 307 days, which is practically an eternity compared to North Dakota's 10 days, or Colorado's 27 days (for state land). Under these conditions, it does in fact seem that the Obama Administration is purposefully suppressing energy production on federal lands.
Thankfully, some congress members have seen the economic benefit in increasing oil production on federal lands. H.R. 1965 would ensure that oil fields like the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska are able to increase and expand production, and ensure that pipelines currently used for transportation of oil are maintained. I believe that it's absolutely crucial for H.R. 1965 to be passed, as the resulting increase in oil production will not only help erase our trade deficit, as discussed in my previous blog entries, but would also help create more jobs for the struggling American economy, as more and more workers are needed by firms expanding drilling operations on federal land. While the environmental impact of expanding oil production should certainly be considered, I believe that the positive economic impact of decreasing our trade deficit and creating more jobs far outweighs the negative environmental impact that could come as a result of increased drilling.
The U.S. needs to decrease its oil dependency in general. Tapping federal lands just encourages the overuse of oil that doesn't end until we run out. Those lands are protected for a reason. Protecting them is important because they are part of habitats that are important. And any company that tells you that you that they can do it without impacting the environment is lying.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Will. The U.S. does need to decrease its oil dependency but really other countries could use to do the same, and he is absolutely right that the lands are protected for a reason, and since they are important to me it is too risky to let the company go in, no matter what they say about not impacting the environment. After taking AP Environment last year you learn that there is no way to not impact the environment or habit around you. No matter what you do someone will be affect by it and it will not go away. You learn this through Commoner's Laws of Ecology: 1. Everything must go somewhere; no such thing as away 2. Everyone lives Downstream 3. No such thing as a free lunch and 4. Nature knows best.
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