It’s a sad day when oil tycoons have enough politicians in their pockets so that Congress can’t pass a bill that supports alternative energy and that holds Exxon Mobil responsible for the suffering of the average American in light of the company’s record profits.
I saw this happening, really. I knew as soon as I read this article on June 11th. The Senate killed two bills that would have held the oil companies accountable and would have created incentives for growing the alternative energy market. But, you see, what the Industry and the Bush administration want is not independence from oil,but independence from foreign oil.These are completely different concepts. Independence from foreign oil includes dependence on destructive oil drilling practices that will hurt precious eco systems that will take hundreds of years to repair. They still want to be able to vacuum up hard-working Americans’ dollars, but they want to do it in a way that is beneficial to them, regardless of the effects on our natural habitats and our oceans, and despite the fact that it is merely a band-aid solution.
Their strategy is easy to see, and practically unstoppable in the wake of the last eight years of de-regulation and the absence of corporate accountability. They have forced the issue by hurting the constituents in such a way that there is no choice but to make a major change. You see, if they can stall long enough and keep just enough Senators from passing a bill that would change the energy market completely, (in fact, only nine Senators were needed in one case) there is no choice but to open the discussion of drilling in environmentally sensitive areas.
The Republicans are now proposing their own solution. It is no real change in the energy market or in US consumption, which are the real issues behind the rising gas prices, just another way for the oil companies to make a quick dollar. I believe they are forcing the issue because they know that the Republicans are losing ground on Capital Hill and will lose ground in the White House in just five and a half months. Even so, with a Democrat in office, I’m afraid it will be too late. The American public will be attached ever longer to their intravenous addiction to gasoline.
