Answers to Tough Questions

Where do they come up with this stuff?

We heard it from Senator Obama. "We don't need to drill for more oil. We just need to fill the air in our tires ... and get a tune up." Over and over. They repeated the claim on CBS Sunday. That's it. We're saved. Who needs drilling? Fill up your tires, tune up your car, and ... Bingo! ... the crisis is over! Indeed, the claim is that the high price of gas is saving lives! There you go.

I guess, with the global warming problem, our goal is supposed to be to end the use of oil altogether. I would imagine, with that as our goal, that no more drilling for oil would be obvious. Now, the government estimates that there are nearly 86 billion barrels of oil in the nation's untapped outer continental shelf as well as about 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The oil could power the nation for 11 years and the gas is the equivalent of more than 14 years at the current rates. The primary protest to offshore drilling is environmental. In 1969, an offshore well spilled some 80,000 barrels of oil into the sea off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. This brought about new rules for offshore operations. Since 1969, records indicate a total of 833 barrels. Contrast this with the natural leakage off the coast of California. The ocean floor itself leaks about 1,000 barrels a week. So while there may indeed be a real problem with oil spills in the Middle East, it seems that the problem isn't here.

But, look, this all seems so short-sighted. There are so many factors here. We've been told, for instance, that driving 10 MPH over 60 MPH results in a 4 MPG decrease in efficiency. We are told that under-inflated tires contribute to a 3% loss of gas mileage, and a tune up could give us a 4% increase. Further, a study from the University of Alabama says that for every 10% increase in gas prices there is a 2.3% decrease in deaths on the road.

Clearly, people, we need to take advantage of these solutions that are currently available. We need to drop the national speed limit to 55 MPH. Everyone knows that. Of course, that wouldn't produce the results we're expecting because ... well ... people won't do it. So we have to institute something more than speed laws. We would need to institute speed regulators. They are currently available, so it would be easy. And while we would like to think "Education is the answer", we can clearly see that despite the fact that we've been told for a long time about under-inflation and tune ups, we're not doing anything. It would need to be mandated. Institute roadblocks for checking tire pressure. Mandate yearly tune ups, required before you can register your car. Think of the gas savings! Oh, and we should mandate a national gas price. If 10% produces 2.3% decrease in lost lives, we could easily require a doubling of the price of fuel. That would save easily 25% of the lives that would be lost -- maybe more. Surely it's not too much of a price to ask for saved lives and fuel. Better yet, why not outlaw cars? Just think of the savings in gasoline and lost lives! If we could just eliminate many of the personal freedoms to which we've unwisely become accustomed, we could really make headway here ...