Dig, Baby Dig

Sometimes, a simple solution sits in front of us and all it takes is the will to simply say “Go for it.” The solution for our energy problems is simple, “Drill, baby drill and dig, baby dig.” In previous articles, I have presented overwhelming data that shows that the United States is awash in energy as Congressional Research Service concluded that the United States has more than double the energy reserves than Saudi Arabia.

When you add that the United States have 28% of the world's coal reserves, you are talking a country where energy independence is within reach and one report noted, the United States has developed only 13% of its oil reserves. This data is enough to make the case that Sarah Palin had it right, “Drill, baby, Drill.” Even before the Congressional Research Service study was completed, other sources made a similar point as Department of Energy and Mineral Management Service noted that there is enough oil to last at least another 50 years in the Outer Continental Shelf alone. With the new technology, energy sources previously unavailable are now ready to be produced and we are far from peak oil production. This is one of those no-brainers, develop the resources we have and it takes a lot of effort to find any downside to a strategy of full speed ahead on increased energy production. The first is self-evident, we go from being an energy importer to becoming an energy exporter and if that does happen; OPEC is over as a cartel. Can you imagine China coming to us for their energy sources and suddenly, we’re not the ones indebted to China but the other way around?

The second is economic growth, job creation and increase GNP growth and who knows, that increase in GNP growth means more government revenues that will give us the opportunities to pay down the debt. Instead of going the way of Greece, we go back the way of America, the entrepreneur society that leads the world in economic growth.

The third is that this economic growth means not just more white collar workers making a ton of money but plenty of blue collar jobs, which prosperity shared through the economy while having a ripple effect through all of America.

We do have a Party captured by environmentalist extremism; idiocy has been the hallmark of this Administration whose idea of a successful energy policy is to develop a policy to making driving our cars more expensive. (Now that we are in an election year, Obama and his secretary of energy have essentially back pedaled on their past statements during and shortly after the 2008 elections that their policy will lead to higher energy prices in an attempt to wean America from her thirst of oil.)

The Keystone pipeline is one of those decisions that was a head scratcher since there was no downside to the deal since it meant more jobs and energy sources coming from our closet neighbor and ally, Canada. The fact this administration delayed this was simply due to sucking up to their base within the environmental movement.

Sarah Palin had it right in 2008 and whoever gets the nomination should look Obama in the eyes and say, “Mr. President, there is a very simple solution to our energy problem. Drill, baby, Drill.”