PrintMarch 23, 2011
Drill, Bebê, Drill...
Let's see if I have this straight: America shouldn't drill for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico because our evil oil corporations surely will cause another accident like the BP spill and pollute all the oceans of the world; but it's no problema apparently for the obviously technologically superior Brazil to drill in the open Atlantic and sell their production to us?
At least that is what I gleaned from the encouraging words delivered by our president to Brazilian leaders in a speech to local businessmen in Brasilia last week. Discussing the partnering of our two national economies, the president said this:
The second place we want to partner with Brazil is on the issue of energy, which is why President Rousseff and I also agreed to launch a Strategic Energy Dialogue. By some estimates, the oil you recently discovered off the shores of Brazil could amount to twice reserves we have in the United States. We want to work with you. We want to help with technology and support to develop these oil reserves safely, and when you're ready to start selling, we want to be one of your best customers (emphasis added). At a time when we've been reminded how easily instability in other parts of the world can affect the price of oil, the United States could not be happier with the potential for a new, stable source of energy (emphasis added).
Admittedly, our president goes on to emphasize the need for clean energy development by both countries, but the immediate conclusion to be drawn from Obama's speech is that until such time as we get to this energy utopia, he is perfectly happy to let Brazil, not his own country and constituents, reap the wealth and job benefits associated with continued fossil fuel production.
While all Americans ought to be asking, "What the hell?" folks along the Gulf Coast should be soaking their torches and sharpening their pitchforks for a march on Washington. It is evident by now that Obama truly is a man of the world -- the Third World -- that is, and he is no more looking out for American economic interests than he's looking out for Hillary Clinton's political future.
If we should reach Obama's clean energy nirvana before all that Brazilian oil runs out, I suppose ours just stays there in the earth forever, hmm? But if their fields should be depleted before we achieve a totally unicorn-powered energy system, what then? I guess if the Democrats are in power, we can turn over all drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico to Petrobras, which already has offices and operations in Houston. Then we can borrow billions from the Chinese to construct an ocean floor pipeline to get all that crude down to Brazil where they can load it on tankers and sell it back to us so we can keep all our ridership-challenged (that's P.C. for empty for all you out there in Rio Linda) high speed trains running on time.
Which, when you consider it, sounds like another brilliant Democrat economic program. You oilfield workers on the Gulf Coast thinking about future employment better be brushing up on your Portuguese, know what I mean?
Drill, Bebê, Drill...
