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Home | News & Society | Commentary Whoever said the petroleum industry doesn't require government subsidies? How much of Congress' time is devoted to energy policy, to international regulations aimed at protecting the flow of oil, tax considerations and other regulations to insure that the oil companies can continue drilling? How much of the State Department's negotiations are designed around concerns about protecting our oil sources? We frequently build partnerships with other countries, not based on mutual priorities, but on economic realities, which means oil. Don't those short-term choices carry long-term costs? Then there's the Pentagon. Who could accurately calcuate the expenditures the Department of Defense spends, in maintaining military bases, moving troops and war machines (such as aircraft carriers) into positions selected to defend our dependence on oil? Consider our current wars in the Middle East. Many people think they are crucial to our way of life, others think they are ridiculous. Either way, would we even BE there if not for our need for petroleum? For that matter, how much presence would we have, or need, in the center of the Islamic World, without oil? Would extremists attack us? Would so much of the Muslim world hate us? I'm not supporting terrorism. This is just an observation. Our ties to fossil fuels have hidden costs we need to start recognizing. And I'm not attacking the oil companies, either. Without fossil fuels, America could not have achieved our current position in the world; biofuels simply weren't practicable in the past. We need to realize that not some government subsidies are indirect, and America has new options available. If we can make fuel out of agricultural products, then our sources for raw materials, domestically, within the free world, and everywhere, expand dramatically. And if we can decrease our dependence on oil, our nation can devote more of expenditures, our attention, and our international efforts toward goals that will serve us in the future, as well as today. Even without the recent increases in gas prices, biofuels may already be cheaper than petroleum. Article Source: http://www.articlewheel.com
Written by Josh Skandar, a supporter of booksXYZ.com, the on-line Bookstore supporting education. Josh is currently recommending "Blooming Trees & Shrubs of the Coastal South," a great book on southern gardening.
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