Oil: A Temporary Solution to a Permanent Problem

No matter how hard we might wish we could simply drill our way to energy independence, it is simply not possible, and the sooner we learn this, the better. Dirty fossil fuels like oil and gas are not the future. They are a temporary solution at best, one that we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy for over a century of rapid industrialization. But as countries like China, India, and Brazil enter into new stages of their industrial revolutions, resources are only going to become much more scarce, perhaps much faster than we’d originally planned.

For example, China has already begun stockpiling uranium, the compound essential for nuclear reactors. China’s own Prime Minister has personally traveled to Nigeria and made deals that are expected to drive up the price of uranium by over 30 percent next year. The same is inevitable for oil and natural gas. Unless the United States wants to deal increasingly with other nations, many of whom are hostile to our values—such as countries in the Middle East and the oil barons in Russia and China—we need to act now.

Unfortunately, unlike some proponents maintain, drilling for oil and gas domestically is not the answer either. Even if we drilled in every square inch of available water, the United States still would not have enough to support our ever-growing energy appetite. And besides, creating new rigs offshore takes years of bureaucratic blue tape, exploration, and lease bidding to become feasible solutions. By that time, we could have been well on our way to developing real energy solutions, like solar, wind, and biomass. Creating a green, independent future will take time, so why waste it by developing temporary solutions to a permanent problem?