"Over The Horizon..."

I don't know what you are paying for a gallon of gasoline where you live, but here in metropolitan Tampa and St. Petersburg the cost is hovering right at $4.00 per gallon for the regular blend. It is costing me weekly an average of $60.00 to fill up my truck. That is $3,328.00 yearly...if the prices hold steady. It is rapidly approaching the point where it is costing me more and more of my take home pay just so I can continue working. Talk about a classic case of diminishing returns and that pretty much sums up what our country is going through on a daily basis just to keep our heads above water. And what do we hear regarding this critical matter from our elected leaders in Washington? "Well, there's not a whole lot we can do in the short term." Apparently there is not a whole lot of consensus about what we can do in the long term either, so divided and ineffectual is our nation's leadership.

Time is currently being wasted by the talking heads and politicians in pointing fingers rearward at decisions that were made previously that quite frankly could have mitigated if not eliminated the current energy crisis we are enduring. We are the only nation in the world that has made a concerted policy decision to forgo the exploration and utilization of its own natural resources of which we have an ample, untapped supply. Our affection and unwavering devotion to protecting our environment has brought us to the brink of near total dependency upon foreign powers who have little regard for our nation's struggling economy as long as our wealth keeps flowing uninterrupted and ever escalating into their coffers in return for their precious oil. We are literally bankrolling those entities to the tune of millions of dollars annually, and these windfall profits are too often continuing to be utilized to underwrite the cost to inflict terrorism on those innocents who fail to embrace their radical religious ideology.

Listen, I am all in favor of promoting the ideal of clean air and water. However, when I am told that we cannot explore for a natural resource that could bring economic stability to the greater number of my fellow citizens because it may infringe upon the fragile habitat of an indigenous Titmouse, then there is something terribly out of balance between common sense and irrational, over zealous protectionism. God instructed mankind to take charge of the earth and to subdue it. With that directive comes the tacit admonishment that we are to do so in a responsible manner. Granted there have been far too many historic instances where mankind has literally raped and pillaged the land with little regard for the enduring consequence that, as a rule, were too often inflicted for the sake of greed. Yet the mistakes of our forefathers cannot dictate the continuing mindset that we shall again repeat the same atrocities. To do so would be to selfishly tie the hands of modern-day developed technologies that can garner the wealth of our nation's existing energy resources along with a well learned determination to do no harm to our environment. We should have a high confidence that the harvesting of our resources would result in no catastrophic consequence. We fly back and forth from the most hostile environment in the universe...space...and we can't put together a comprehensive package of soutions to our energy requirements? The answer is "Yes." I just question if we have the "want to."

Approximately 150 miles off the Gulf Coast of Florida lies oil and natural gas deposits that could significantly address our nation's energy needs for decades, but the environmentalist from Congress to Tallahassee are adamantly opposed to having oil rigs just over the horizon of our state's pristine beaches. Said one state politician, "Our Florida beaches are the life blood of our tourist economy. We cannot run the risk of having them fouled by an oil spill." Here's the deal...if gas continues to rise in price, the only tourist that will populate our Florida beaches will be the seagulls and brown Pelicans! It is time that our state's and national politicians get their heads out of the sand and realize that people with decreasing take home paychecks and who are finding it increasingly difficult to afford to put gasoline in their cars make very poor candidates to lie on any beach, but make excellent candidates to stand in the unemployment line. People with no jobs, who are struggling to make their monthly mortgage or rent payments, who must decide what available money may be at their disposal is to be spent on escalating cost of health care, home owner's insurance, medicine or groceries, then it should come as no surprise that these same people are not going to have an extra dime to spend on leisure activities. Another classic case of our politicians cutting off our noses to spite their face.

Granted, we cannot "drill our way" out of this energy crisis. But to do nothing but argue that point is to forfeit our country's future to those who have no personal stake in any future but their own. We cannot long endure this impasse. We as a nation must act. To not act decisively is to make a choice for which this country may never recover. We must, as part of a comprehensive national energy policy, explore and drill with every available opportunity to capture our nation's resources, and always to do so in a prudent and responsible manner. I am convinced that at as a nation, as a people, we can accomplish this goal of becoming energy self-sufficient and still live in harmony with the Titmouse.