It's Still The Oil

Okay, maybe I jumped the gun last week when I stated that Cuba and China were recovering oil right off the coast of Florida.
According to an article Betty Phillips forwarded to The Metro News a few days ago to counter my statement, there is no drilling going on off the coast of Florida by either Cuba or China. And because I have a lot of respect for Betty Phillips I checked her story out.
Here’s what I was able to find out. She’s exactly right, for now anyway. Cuba has leased out exploration blocks 60 miles off the coast of Florida which is closer than American firms are allowed to operate. They are doing exploration work on those leases. But at the present time there is no active drilling going on by Cuba or the Chinese. Yet.
Betty, I do appreciate you reading my column and I thank you for keeping me honest. But here’s the deal. It still doesn’t change my mind. Just because Cuba and China haven’t started drilling yet doesn’t mean they won’t be in the near future. And I still think it’s stupid that we allow it.
I still think it’s stupid that we’re willing to sit on top of some of the largest known oil reserves in the world simply because we don’t have the guts to tell the environmental whack-jobs to go to Hell. I still think it’s stupid we quit building nuclear power plants. And I still think it’s stupid we’re more worried about the mating habits of the Caribou than drilling for oil in ANWAR.
Those of you who read this column on a regular basis know by now that I do a lot of traveling around our great state. Last week I was a little closer to home than normal. I was in the Lawrence/Tonganoxie area. And one of the things I noticed as I drove north of Lawrence was the “coal-fired” power plant they have. Normally that wouldn’t be that big a deal. But with all the predictions of death and destruction being made if the Holcomb plant was allowed to proceed I paid particular attention as I traveled through the area. Guess what I found? The same thing I find in every part of the state. The crops were standing tall. There were cows doing their thing. The plants, wildflowers, and grass was thriving. People were going on about their lives as if nothing was wrong. And yes, there were even old people and I can’t help but to believe some of them have lived in the area most if not all their lives without dying from the dreaded co2 emissions. The only thing I can figure out is that Western Kansas co2 must be a lot worse than that coming out of Lawrence.
This week I’m in the Great Bend area and I just love this part of the state. The biggest industries around here are agriculture and oil. My dad and grandfather both worked in the oil fields around here when I was growing up and I even drove by a few of their old wells. And guess what I found. Same thing I found around Lawrence. The wheat crop looks as good as it ever has. In fact the wheat harvest is in full swing around here. The corn crop is coming along just fine. The cattle seem to be doing well. Pheasants are everywhere. I several deer, one skunk, a snake, and even a badger. Oil exploration and production has been going on around this part of the state for the last 70 or 80 years and guess what? Life has gone on in spite of the dire predictions of the environmentalists.
Like I said last week. Go ahead and develop your alternate energy sources. Work on your windmills. Work on your solar power projects. Develop whatever you think will work. Most of us don’t really care where our energy comes from, we just want it to work well and to be there when we need it. But in the mean time our very existence as a nation depends on having an adequate supply of crude oil and we have that right here at home as long as we have the guts to recover it.
Kevin McGinty can be reached at: kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net