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Russia’s invasion of Georgia in August is one that, we would hope, was done
for the right reason. It is interesting that the media is not calling this
a rush for oil. Georgia has one of the largest pipelines running right down
the middle and is a major supplier of crude to Western Europe. Could we be
seeing the beginning of the “resource wars”? And if so, why is the United Nations
so very silent on this issue?
Instead of speculation about Eastern Europe, we have our pundits questioning
the veracity of the “Pickens Plan,” which clearly states that our goal should
be to get off imported oil. Appropriately, this month’s cover story, “Should
We Be Pickin’ on Pickens?,” takes on T. Boone’s bold energy proposal – essentially
a rethinking of our power infrastructure – and assesses it from an economic
and political standpoint. Pickens’ number-crunching sounds promising, but the
enormous investment involved in turning our nation from foreign oil to homegrown
wind has skeptics shaking their heads.
Also this month, Robert Rapier looks at the drilling debate from both sides
of the aisle and concludes that the environmentalists and the explorationists
can find a middle ground. It takes flexibility and cooperation from both sides.
And Hugh Ebbutt reminds us that as high as the $4 gallon may look to consumers
today, the coming crunch is destined to push prices even higher and reshape
the way we look at our energy usage.
Our North American and Latin American spotlights shine on the U.S. presidential
campaign, where Sen. McCain’s and Sen. Obama’s energy-related accusations and
pontificating have devolved into the provocative sound bite, and on the effect
of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, which has resulted in countries like
Argentina and Chile being hard-pressed to supply enough fuel to their citizens.
Between the turmoil in Georgia and the tempest created by Pickens, it is clear
that the foreign oil debate has gone beyond the talking stage and is challenging
real people (as opposed to our Congress members) to take action. Whether the
Pickens Plan is born of philanthropy or profit, only Pickens himself knows
– though it is obvious that T. Boone will become an even wealthier man if his
plan is implemented. It reminds me of another famous individual who came up
with a plan and now is becoming very rich off this trend. Well, if we are willing
to enrich Al Gore, we ought to give T. Boone his chance.
Richard R. Loomis
Editor-in-Chief
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