In this Sunday’s New York Times, Nelson D. Schwartz takes a look at the current oil situation in an article titled American Energy Policy, Asleep at the Spigot. In the article, Mr. Schwartz makes several points all supporting his central thesis:
“Over the last 25 years, opportunities to head off the current crisis were ignored, missed or deliberately blocked, according to analysts, politicians and veterans of the oil and automobile industries. What’s more, for all the surprise at just how high oil prices have climbed, and fears for the future, this is one crisis we were warned about. Ever since the oil shortages of the 1970s, one report after another has cautioned against America’s oil addiction.”
With quotes from David J. O'Reilly, CEO of Chevron, Pete V. Domenici, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committe, and Representative John D. Dingell, a Democrat from Detroit who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the piece gives an interesting account of some of the inaction by policy makers in Washington DC. An interesting bit of history the article provides is that the offshore areas that current Republicans are so hot to exploit are currently protected by an executive order by the first President Bush in 1990. And, the article goes on to point out how Clinton’s time at the wheel was marked by inaction and bi-partisan efforts to prevent tightening of economy standards. In other words, elected officials across the political spectrum all contributed to the current situation we find ourselves in.
It’s an interesting and recommended read.
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