Colorado – Financial Disaster
AEA Comments on BLM’s Oil Shale Regulations
Energy is the lifeblood of our economy and skyrocketing energy prices illustrate the need for more domestic sources of energy. In the energy debate, there is a lot of talk about alternative energy, but oil shale is frequently not mentioned. This is shocking considering the incredible amount of energy available in oil shale.
According to the Department of Energy, American oil shale may hold one trillion barrels of potentially recoverable oil. This staggering amount of oil reserves is greater than Saudi Arabia’s.
Currently, the Bureau of Land Management is writing regulations to make lands available for oil shale research and development activities. One of the biggest issues in the regulations is the royalty rate BLM charges for oil shale extraction.
We believe it is important that the royalty rate is low so that companies have the incentive to invest the billions of dollars necessary to discover the best ways to utilize these domestic resources. We propose that the royalty rate should start at 1 percent (or some other low rate) for the first ten years, growing to 3 percent to allow this industry to grow and produce large amounts of domestic energy.
Oil shale holds great promise as a way of increasing our domestic energy production and improving our energy security. We are pleased that BLM is taking this step to boost our domestic energy production.
You can view AEA’s comment here.
Mississippi – Energy Independence
AEA Continues American Energy Advocacy Campaign with New Ads in Colorado, Mississippi
Washington, DC – The American Energy Alliance (AEA) today unveiled new radio advertisements in Colorado and Mississippi as part of its continuing American energy advocacy campaign. AEA president Thomas Pyle issued the following statement:
“Whether they are filling up at the pump, stocking up at the grocery store, or balancing the check book, American families are suffering the effects of skyrocketing energy prices at every turn. They’re looking towards Washington for relief. And while some policies are commonsense supply-and-demand solutions to help lower prices, others would actually set us back in the quest for new domestic energy. That’s why AEA is continuing its American energy advocacy efforts with new ads in Colorado and Mississippi – to advocate for legislative initiatives that lead to real increases in American energy supplies.”
The text of the ad follows, and can be heard by clicking here .
Gas prices are hurting Colorado families. But, Congressman Mark Udall has voted 34 times against additional energy exploration and production.
[Read more…]
Mississippi AEA Launches “Energy Independence” Ad
The text of the Mississippi ad follows
Energy costs are hurting our families. Thankfully Senators Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran are leading the effort to find solutions.
Our Senators helped sponsor legislation that would open up American sources of energy—lessening our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. And our Senators understand the U.S. has more untapped oil than the entire world has consumed in the last 150 years, and the capability to develop these resources safely and responsibly.
Increasing our own energy production is a step towards lowering gas prices in the present and increasing our energy independence in the future.
Call Senator Wicker at (601) 965-4644 and Senator Cochran at (601) 965-4459. Tell them to keep fighting for lower energy costs.
Click here to view the fact sheet.
Colorado AEA Launches “Compromises” Radio Ad
The text of the ad follows
Gas prices are hurting Colorado families. But, Congressman Mark Udall has voted 34 times against additional energy exploration and production. Udall said “we can’t drill our way out of this problem,” but now says he supports drilling.
The legislation he now backs would actually make it more difficult to produce our own energy. It’s called the “Gang of Sixteen” compromise, but the only thing it compromises is our ability to drill for oil on nearly eighty percent of America’s energy rich outer continental shelf.
The legislation Congressman Udall supports will also raise taxes on domestic energy production, cost America 600,000 jobs, and do virtually nothing to decrease our reliance on Middle Eastern oil.
Call Mark Udall at (303) 650-7820. Tell him if he really supports drilling, he should support energy legislation that will result in more American energy, not LESS.
Read the whole fact sheet here
Santa Barbara County Supports Offshore Drilling
Anytime offshore oil drilling is mentioned, environmental activists bring up the tragic 1969 oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. This spill was caused by a blow-out on a oil platform. The blow-out leaked 3 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean, covering near-by beaches. This event galvanized public opposition to offshore drilling.
The 1969 oil spill was a tragedy. But the tragedy motivated oil companies to develop oil extraction techniques that minimize spillage and eliminate blow-outs. The technology has made major strides in the last 40 years. In fact, the technology has advanced so far that the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors recently voted to support offshore drilling.
Washington Post Calls for Higher Gasoline Prices
Most people think that falling gasoline prices are a good thing, but not the Washington Post. The Post actually argues that higher gasoline prices are a good thing for America. This is not a joke. They write:
If oil prices keep going down, what will happen to all the progress the United States has just made toward energy independence? Higher gas prices caused U.S. motorists to drive 12.2 billion fewer miles in June compared with a year earlier, according to the Transportation Department. This wiped out the previous five years’ worth of growth in gasoline demand, the American Petroleum Institute reports. As a result, we all enjoyed less traffic (and fewer traffic deaths), cleaner air and greater national security.
For people like the Washington Post’s editorial board, who apparently make enough money so that filling up their tanks with $4 a gallon gasoline doesn’t faze them, expensive gasoline isn’t a problem. High gasoline price keep the rest of us off the road so that the Post’s editorial board doesn’t have as much traffic to contend with.
Unlike the Post’s editorial board, we know that inexpensive transportation is a good thing. It allows us greater work opportunities, it makes it easier to take care of our families, and it gives us more entertainment options. These are the positive benefits of inexpensive transportation. Too bad the Washington Post believes that we have it too easily.
The Post concludes:
Recent experience with higher gasoline prices and lower oil consumption confirms something we have long maintained: A serious national energy policy would include a higher federal per-gallon tax on gasoline. Just a 19-cent increase in the tax, which is currently 18.4 cents a gallon, would lock in the incentives to conserve that have been lost during the past month’s price decline.
In summary, the Washington Post believes that everyone has it too easy. Taxes aren’t high enough, but if they were, the people would make the “better” decisions. Who cares that it makes our lives more difficult? Obviously not the Washington Post. In fact, that is their explicit goal.
