I ran across an article in the Austin American Statesman stating that the Department of energy purchases 70,000 barrels per day for a reserve, which now has 700 million barrels. It is said that because of the cost of this the taxpayers cost is going up.
To be honest I had no idea we had such a large amount of oil on reserve. I understand that we need to have preparation in case of an emergency but we need to focus more of our resources on alternative fuels. The question we should consider as well is why are we not investing in alternative fuels? We are in an incredible position of advancement when it comes to alternative fuels. We have the science, technology and intelligence to implement less dependency on oil. If we take half the money we spend on oil reserves and put it towards alternative energy options, it is highly possible they will become more affordable.
I do agree with the fact that we do need to somehow find balance when it comes to the cost of oil especially when we have so much on reserve. To read more on this subject: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared/news/stories/2008/04/OIL_RESERVE25_AUS.html
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Too Much Dependence
After reading a classmate's blog on oil it is clear our country is not focusing on being proactive to solve a solution, it is furthering our dependence on oil. Instead of focusing on alternative energy options we are ignoring the obvious problem of the limited supply and still consuming more than ever. The blog is well written, researched, and compiled in a effective way to highlight a very important issue facing our nation. If we look at other developed nations many have converted or at least established other main sources of energy and are eliminating their dependence on oil. The main issue here is money, which my colleague addressed briefly. The oil industry is a huge money maker for the U.S. and I believe the truth is that the government wants us to be dependent on oil and not exhaust other resources because this strengthens their control over the citizens.
The article is reinforced by facts and common sense statements that aren't argueable, which helps emphasize the point that our government needs to stop spending so much on oil and use that money for research for alterntive fuels and energy sources. The whole idea just makes sense, so why isn't it happening? If more citizens cared and made this the pressing issue in politics then the politicians would have to respond. There could be more elaboration in the article about what we should do in response to the issue and options that are currently available. It would be interesting if the subject of government subsidies and how much the oil industry makes a quarter werementioned. The issue of oil is extensive, controversial, and pertinent to today's society and was well covered in the blog. The important thing here is that we as citizens need to be proactive to eliminate our dependence on oil and force our government to follow in our foot steps.
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