Energy Hypocrisy of NIMBY

June 20th, 2008 • Chief Hypocrite

But we should say we are sorryNIMBY means never having oil spilled on your shores, rather having it spill on the shores of other countries.

John McCain had previously lined up with the Not In My Back Yard energy users so common in these United States. What a hypocrite. Pure and unmitigated. And selfish.

As oil ladened tankers travel thousands and thousands of miles on oceans, near remote islands and wildlife as well as population centers that have no say in the matter of their being exposed to Valdez type spills when all goes wrong, as it does and as it will.

Recently, as The Republican Presumptive, in light of $4 plus gasoline which is transferring massive amounts of wealth from users to producers, enriching oil producing sovereign countries who own and control most of that oil, John McCain did what?

He Changed His Mind - Hypocrite. After taking one position, he now has a different position on offshore drilling and is reportedly considering changing his stance on ANWAR. Is there only hypocrisy in change or can there be virtue in change? $4 and rising is different than $2 and below according to my checkbook.

When will we recognize, to a person in this country, that we are long overdue for a dose of self responsibility in several areas including this one. Even if it means we expose our previous hypocrisy as we transition to less selfish actions. Even if it means further showcasing hypocrisy inherent in changing ones mind. Even if it means waking up or learning new information or accepting old information. This is not new stuff. But a new view is overdue.

Hypocrisy is not always such a bad thing and McCain’s most recent demonstration of hypocrisy is may be virtuous and if not, it is in our and the worlds best interest. Yes, folks, we must also improve other known sources of energy so that our price sensitive consumers and businesses will transition to them.

We all want bargains and oil remains a bargain. Believe it. I wish we would run out of it tomorrow, but unfortuantely we won’t and many foreign countries enjoy low extraction costs and could lower the price of oil if necessary. Bit player Exxon cannot, but OPEC et al, can. Did you notice that China is moving prices in the direction of market prices? They recognize the need to reduce their subsidies while the naive in the US clamor for subsidy.

Every one who uses oil & gas based energy and WHO HAS A CHOICE (and you probably do) to do something different and myopically focuses on complaining about US based oil companies which are collectively minority players, all the while giving sovereign monopolists a complete pass, are unmitigated partisan politicos playing catch 22 with immunity out in the open. Let’s call out everyone on this destructive behavior. Ride a bike, put on a sweater, Jimmy Carter did and it worked, right?

Using oil is destructive to the environment you might say. So stop using it. And support the New Manhattan Project even though Max Shultz of The Manhattan Institute wrongly asserts it is a waste of time.

BUT, in the meantime, DO NOT continue to commit SOAP, our current Suicidal Oil Avoidance Policy, brought to you by rich people. Confront this national security issue on all fronts.

And guess what, even after you do, and no matter what you do, oil yet to be discovered will still get used. Whether we use it or not.

We have no control over that and continuing to arrogate as if we did, is ignorance approaching stupidity. Actually, it is more like stupidity arrived.

I pray for more hypocrisy and soon.

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There Are 4 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by richard cochrane on 20 June 2008:

    Transporting oil halfway around the world when the U. S. sits on a TRILLION BARRELS (EXCEEDING ALL Saudi Arabia’s ) is absurdly stupid for a PLETHORA OF REASONS. NIMBY has been taken over by the C.A.V.E. people (Citizen’s AGAINST Virtually Everything)The good new most citizens want to end the moratorium on offshore drilling, and as far as I am concerned extract U. S. domestic oil ending all imports from the Middle East and South America.

    In 1969 TIME magazine was bleating about decades of cleanup after an oil spill in the SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL and 6-weeks later admitted it was clean and there would be no damage, and there hasn’t been.

    Let’s get realistic or prepare to ride donkeys or pay $9 a gallon for gasoline while spewing platitudes about hydrogen powered skateboard, and such…

  2. Comment by richard cochrane on 21 June 2008:

    Ina megala teleutomen, dei emas kai sfodra epithumein kai epicheirein”. Just about the ONLY ancient Greek sentiment I have familiarity with - to accomplish great thing you must act but also dream first. Or, dreaming without acting accomplishes nothing.

  3. Comment by Jason Blanchard on 25 June 2008:

    I don’t agree that changing one’s mind defines a hypocrite. Times have changed, data has changed, cost has changed. Many of the reasons McCain didn’t support off-shore drilling (or ANWR)have changed. Because oil remained affordable within our economy, it was easy to be against drilling our own. That has changed, and I applaud everyone who finally realizes we should produce some oil here.

    Jason Blanchards last blog post..Al Gore shows true colors….yet again

  4. Comment by Jason Blanchard on 26 June 2008:

    Elizabeth Dole just changed her mind too…

    “The Republican, facing re-election for the first time, said the option should be available to states so long as the exploration is safe, clean and not visible from land”
    http://www.salisburypost.com/Area/062608-dole-drilling

    Why is visibility an issue? More NIMBY rhetoric? Typical political fashion — trying to get on the right side of the issue in all the wrong ways. ME? I’d be honored to see an oil rig off my NC coast while body-surfing. I’ve certainly used enough of it, and it’s crazy to think it appeared out of thin air.

    Or, maybe all corn fields should be 50 miles from the road, and all other industry too, heck, we could make invisibility a LAW!

    Jason Blanchards last blog post..Al Gore shows true colors….yet again

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