Running on Empty

Yesterday, BP announced it was shutting down an oil pipeline in Alaska. The Register has an article that outlines the situation and discusses the affect it will have on farmers.

BP, the largest oil producer in the nation, announced Monday that it was closing its pipelines in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay oil field for weeks, possibly months, because of pipeline corrosion. It is the largest oil field in the United States, accounting for 2.6 percent of all U.S. oil supplies, including imports.

The price of oil went up $2 a barrel to near $77 and it is expected to go even higher. On NPR yesterday, I heard the host ask one of the experts if we could hit $100 per barrel. Here in central Iowa, we are close to hitting $3.00 a gallon.

All of this brings up the topic of Peak Oil. The Chicago Tribune published a series called "A Tank of Gas, A World of Trouble" that gives an in depth look at where your gas comes from. The article had this to say about Peak Oil...

Below ground, the biggest worry is "peak oil"--the notion that the world's total petroleum endowment is approaching the half-empty mark, a geological tipping point beyond which no amount of extra pumping will revive fading oil fields. Peak oil theory is controversial. Many think it alarmist. Yet even Big Oil is starting to gird itself for possible fuel shortages: Chevron, the nation's second-largest oil company, has bluntly declared that "the era of easy oil is over" and is warning energy-hungry Americans that "the world consumes two barrels of oil for every barrel discovered."

The Energy Department announced that it is ready to open up the strategic oil reserves to help keep oil prices down. This is short term solution, but the fact is that oil is a non-renewable resource. We need to get to the point where we invest in long-term solutions. We have spent over $300 billion in Iraq. I wonder how many wind turbines, solar panels, tax breaks for hybrid cars, and research in biofuels we could have if we invested that much money on gaining our energy independence.

It is about time Congress offers some long-term solutions. The Cheney Energy Bill passed last summer that was filled with over $8 billion in tax breaks for the energy industry isn't the answer. Congress should make a PR blitz stressing conservation and then get back to Washington and pass legislation increases CAFE standards to improve the fuel economy of cars sold in the United States. Then we need to begin a program such as the Apollo Alliance to get us on the fast track of oil independence.

However, all of this requires one thing and that is leadership. Unfortanately, that is lacking in Washington.Check out Ames Wire's suggestions on how to beat gas prices.

Read the Energy Bulletin for updates and other energy related news.