The U.S. Department of Energy says America uses 20 Million Barrels of oil a day. That's 833,333 barrels an hour, a Billion Barrels every 50 days, about 7.5 Billion Barrels a year. Problem is, Big Oil can't produce anywhere near that amount. That threatens National Security.
An article, in the 5-2-10 Press Democrat, "Stopping A Spill vs. Need To Drill", by New York Times writer, Jad Mouawad, said, "The Gulf accounts for about a third of the nation's domestic supply, or about 1.7 million barrels a day." That being so, America's total domestic haul is about 5.1 million barrels a day. That's about 6 hours usage, only 25% of our needs. Americans are forced to pay the price of Foreign Oil for about 75% of their daily requirement.
During the summer of 2008, at $147 a barrel, Americans paid $2.2 Billion A Day to Foreign Oil. Today, a barrel is about $76 per barrel and Americans pay about $1.15 Billion A Day, to Foreign Oil. If we used half that to transition clean energy, we wouldn't have oil or debt problems.
Currently, BP oil is leaking from the Alaska Pipeline and the Gulf Coast, while Chevron oil is leaking in Utah. The Taylor Energy Wells, in the Gulf near Louisiana, have been leaking since 2004. Destroyed by Hurricane Ivan, 26 wells were capped but some oil continues to escape the containment domes.
Big Oil has stopped any transition into clean energy for over 50 years. Oil dependence is the cause of our energy problems, not the solution. Oil is highly toxic. It destroys the ecology-of-life. It's not a renewable resource. There's no future in its diminished capacity. It's a threat to our National Security. The only role for Big Oil in America's energy plans is to help transition America to clean energy. To properly correct a wrongful effect, one must first correct its cause.
Ray Withey
Willits
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