To the Editor:
With the prospect of $4 to $5 per gallon fuel for cars and trucks on the horizon because of the Middle East upheavals in the past weeks, I am not surprised we are not doing more with natural gas in this country. America has a lot of natural gas. It is cleaner than oil and we should be doing more to implement it into the transportation system if we want to cut down on our dependence on foreign oil. We cannot keep going on the path we are on with our dependence on foreign oil. If we do, then this country is on a path to economic and national security disasters.
Oilman Boone Pickens has a plan called the Boone Pickens Plan, which is a pathway for this country to reduce its reliance on foreign oil. One part of the plan is to use natural gas for long-haul trucks, either by converting them or building new ones to use natural gas. Then if we could convert buses, garbage trucks, medium to light trucks, and fleets of cars to natural gas, think of how much foreign oil we could cut out of the system. This can be done within a few years. We could cut our oil use by 10 to 13 percent if we converted our long haul trucks to natural gas.
Despite some of the drilling issues with natural gas, it’s clear that it is a win-win situation for America: jobs, cleaner air, and cutting our dependence on foreign oil.
The Obama Administration must stop its delay of issuing drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico. Drilling has come to a halt in the Gulf. There has been plenty of time to issue new rules and for implementation of them for the drilling industry. It is killing companies, jobs, and making us more dependent on foreign oil imports. The Obama Administration is even ignoring a court ruling telling them that they must move on these drilling permits.
We need to do more domestic drilling here in this country. Obama and his eco-friends keep talking about green energy like windmills, solar panels, and reducing our reliance on imported oil. I guess they are confused on the subject because most of the oil used is for transportation, not for making electricity.
JOHN BUDNIK