[Coalition_for_valle_vidal] Oil, Natural Gas, And Alternative Energy Futures For The USA

[Jim O'Donnell]

Valle Vidal Supporters,

Below are two more strong statements in the Albuquerque Tribune in  
response to the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association rant of January 10,  
2006.

Coalition member Bill Brown offers this reminder to all regarding the  
politically inspired “energy independence” issue:

"On the basis of geoscientific information (as opposed to political  
rhetoric), oil and natural gas are abundant in the world.  However,  
neither is abundant on the North American Continent.  Therefore, if the  
USA wants natural gas for its future, it will need to import it from  
the countries where it exists in abundance.  The same is true for oil,  
as we all know.  The principal countries holding natural gas are  
Russia, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that  
together possess about 67 percent of the world’s proven natural gas  
reserves.  [The USA, by the way, is going after these foreign reserves  
via a huge liquefied natural gas (LNG) importation program facilitated  
by the 2005 Energy Bill – thus the continuing political hypocrisy of  
“energy independence”.]

The global oil and natural gas reserves data mean, very simply, that  
“energy independence” for the USA would mean the end of oil and natural  
gas development in North America, and massive, rapid conversion to  
alternative energy sources.  These alternatives include power from coal  
and nuclear fuels as well as from wind, solar, and biomass.  With less  
than 3 percent of the world’s proved oil reserves and about 3 percent  
of the world’s proved natural gas reserves, and with both reserves  
rapidly declining, the USA is in no position – now or ever – to drill  
its way to “energy independence” via oil and gas development.

Additionally, oil and natural gas prices are determined by a variety of  
competing forces operating through the futures markets in New  York and  
London, where oil and natural gas are traded like any other commodity  
in the global marketplace.  How much or how little drilling goes on in  
the USA is an insignificant factor in the global price of either oil or  
natural gas."

>  
>  
> http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/opinions/article/ 
> 0,2565,ALBQ_19868_4421586,00.html
>  
> The Albuquerque Tribune
>  
> Letters to the Editor
>
> January 28, 2006
>
> Solar, wind power are the way to go
>
> Regarding Bob Gallagher's column of Jan. 10 ("Mine the lands," Insight  
> & Opinion), addressing the need to lessen restrictions on the  
> development of unrenewable resources:
>
> I think he has missed the point entirely.
>
> He wants "the oil and gas industry to have access to energy rich land,  
> so our state and America can grow economically and have a reliable  
> supply of energy for generations to come, while protecting our  
> environmental qualities."
>
> He goes on to state, "It is important for energy consumers to know  
> that reducing the barrier to exploration and development on public  
> lands could curb rising natural gas prices."
>
> Could? When? To sacrifice the rules and regs that protect our public  
> lands, for a "could"? In favor of an entity with a track record of  
> environmental protection as lousy as his industry's?
>
> As this energy resource lessens and our usage increases, the law of  
> supply and demand will produce higher and higher costs. The fact is  
> that the fastest, cheapest most reliable way to reduce our energy  
> costs is to increase our reliance on renewable energy.
>
> Let's put our money there. . . .
>
> Wouldn't you love to have a reason not to curse the wind? I would.  
> We've got way more wind and solar power than we could ever harvest.  
> Ever! Why not invest our technology and development dollars in a  
> never-ending, clean, nonpolluting resource? No need to spend money on  
> "nuisance litigation" with those nasty little environmentalists, . . .  
> no need to go searching for pockets of hidden oil and gas, all the  
> while saying it is getting more and more expensive to provide as it  
> becomes scarcer and harder to get to. . . .
>
> Oil and gas production is going the way of the dinosaurs. Let's look  
> forward and develop a clean energy policy that takes care of our  
> citizens and the earth that houses us all. Solar and wind power are  
> the way to go.
>
> Sue Strebe
>  Guadalupita
>
>  
>
>  
>
> Dirty, costly oil is on its way out
>
>  (Re: "Mine the lands," an opinion piece by Bob Gallagher published in  
> Insight & Opinion, Jan. 10.)
>
> . . . The fact is that there is not enough gas in all the West to  
> supply the nation for more than a few years.
>
> Further, the New Mexico oil and gas industry has more than 25,000  
> wells already on federal lands in New Mexico - more than any other  
> Western state.
>
> More than 8,000 federal oil and gas leases are in effect in New  
> Mexico, covering more than 4.8 million - more federal leases and  
> federal acreage leased than any state except Wyoming.
>
> And even though the U.S. Bureau of Land Management issued more than  
> 1,300 drilling permits in New Mexico in 2004, the oil and gas industry  
> only drilled 726 new holes in the state in that year. In other words,  
> well over 500 drilling permits issued by the federal government went  
> unused by the industry. Why is this?
>
> The New Mexico Oil & Gas Association's assertions are inconsistent  
> with the facts. New Mexico is already making an enormous sacrifice,  
> but despite record drilling over the last five years, prices keep  
> going up. Why? Fossil fuel resources are running dry. The sooner we  
> switch to a clean energy economy, the better.
>
> This is a clear issue: It's a debate between new, clean and efficient  
> technologies and old, dirty and inefficient technologies. Are we going  
> to continue to poison ourselves increasingly as well as the land we  
> depend on? . . .
>
> Susanna de Falla
> Albuquerque
>  
>  
>
Jim O'Donnell
Outreach Coordinator, Coalition for the Valle Vidal
www.vallevidal.org
PO Box 238
Taos, NM 87571
505-758-3874

Are you a member of the Coalition for the Valle Vidal?  Would you like  
to support our efforts?  Join or contribute today at:  
http://www.vallevidal.org/involved.html