drill baby drill

Such was the utterance filled with joy of one Republican conventioneer interviewed by Channel 7 news the other day. The thing he really liked about McCain apparently was offshore drilling. And he is not alone. As I pointed out earlier, even die-hard environmentalists, driving their Volvo's around Berkeley, think it is time to give drilling a second look. "If it can be done without harming the environment," of course!

What drives this enthusiasm is high gas prices. Or should we say, relatively high gas prices, because these prices are only as high as European prices were before the recent run-up in oil. It says a lot that Americans are hurting at levels that Europeans found quite comfortable for many decades.

The call for offshore drilling has met with all kinds of well-meaning but irrelevant responses. Barack Obama rightly points out it won't matter to prices paid at the pump. Others worry about beach pollution and oil spills. Yet others think we may be able to reduce "our dependence on foreign oil" this way.

As an aside it always strikes me as funny that we Americans are so afraid of the world. Politicians make a point of protecting America, as if we are in danger somehow. The theme was everywhere at the political conventions. It must be high on people's minds. But why?

The only danger to our well being my friends, is us. We are driving this civilization into the ground with our endless unsustainable consumption. Nobody, just nobody in the whole wide world can threaten us in a meaningful way. Sure 9/11 was extremely painful, but in the big scheme of things, quite irrelevant.

Back to the drill bits though. I am afraid to say, that whether we drill or don't drill won't make one bit of difference to the environment. The thing that destroys the environment is our wasteful misuse of energy. In this case, "our" includes not just America, but increasingly other countries as well. The only thing that can save us from such destruction is high gas prices. Unless you support high gas prices (and I mean $10 per gallon and up), don't call yourself an environmentalist. Don't protest the war in Iraq. Don't bother pretending you care. All you care about is your own comfort.

The only thing that is proven to work against this madness is high prices. Sustained sky-high energy prices. That is what it takes. If you are ready to support it, stand up and raise your hand. Because that is the price to pay for saving "the planet" and ensuring a future for our kids.