Source: Tallahassee Democrat
The world is holding its breath, waiting for a resolution to an ecological disaster now seen as the worst of our time. We can only hope BP will soon find a solution, even as thousands work to protect fragile beaches and wetlands, and Gulf Coast residents begin to confront the devastating economic fallout.
In a speech the day before he visited the region, President Obama emphasized one key lesson from the terrible situation: "More than anything else, this economic and environmental tragedy — and it's a tragedy — underscores the urgent need for this nation to develop clean, renewable sources of energy."
Indeed, the tragedy is a forceful reminder of the cost of our excessive dependence on petroleum and compels us to consider alternatives. With world oil supplies increasingly hard to find, expensive to develop and requiring greater risk to exploit, this accident won't be the last. Even without accidents, the "fixed costs" of our petroleum addiction are enormous and, over time, untenable: up to $500 billion each year sent to oil-producing nations, some of which are opposed to America's best interests; the "oil curse" of petro-dollars fueling corruption in developing nations; and hundreds of millions of tons of carbon released each year into the atmosphere that contribute to climate change.
Following the disastrous Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989, we did not have a viable alternative to oil. The ethanol industry was in its infancy. Electric automobiles were decades away. Demand for change quieted because the price of oil actually declined from levels reached during the earlier oil-shock years.
Today, much has changed. Demand for oil has increased dramatically, as India and China clamor for their right to live as energy-rich as we Americans. World oil production has risen by 40 percent, and price has jumped from around $18 to around $80 per barrel. Electric cars are again in vogue. But even though significant investments are being made in battery technology, and optimists believe we could see millions of electric cars within the next two decades, in truth, the vast majority of all cars is expected to be liquid-fueled for the foreseeable future — and that would seem to mean an unceasing demand for oil.
