Oil Folly

          The good news locally is that Hertford gas stations are finally competing price-wise with the ones in Elizabeth City. The bad news is that our politicians in Washington still don’t get it when it comes to energy policy.

          Putative Republican candidates for the presidency have been outdoing each other in Iowa to reassure farmers of their undying support of corn-based ethanol.  This is in spite of clear evidence that the over-production of corn has been a huge ecological mistake: deforestation, chemical pollution of our waters, and increased production of carbon dioxide, not to mention higher food prices and damage to automobile engines.
          Meanwhile, our government seems incapable of enjoying the success of the increased production of fossil fuels.  Oil fields in North Dakota, Texas, and elsewhere produce so much oil they have no place to put it.  As a result, 38% of rigs have been shut down since November, and 74,000 workers have lost their jobs.  The solution to this problem would be to export the stuff, but there currently is a ban on U.S. exports of oil.  Congress could lift the ban, but it doesn’t seem to be able to pass even slam-dunk legislation these days.  President Obama could do it through executive action, but he hates fossil fuels and is delighted at the forced reduction in oil production.  The irony is that exporting our excess oil would keep prices down, both on world markets and at the pump.  And it would put a sizable dent in our balance of payments.
          In January I paid as low as $1.83 a gallon for gas.  Now we’re looking at an average of $2.35.  Until someone knocks some sense into our politicians, look for prices to creep up higher and higher this summer.