TEXAS OIL COMMENTARY

 So far, the western side of Texas is flat, dry and full of oil wells and wind mills.  Seems Texas is blessed with the geology that created a vast supply of oil and wind.  Haven't we been told that this land is a promised land set aside with all that is needed to sustain us?  As we have traveled we have met up with a couple guys that work for the oil industry world wide.  They travel and prospect for oil.  It is their opinion that the USA has a larger supply of oil beneath our country, not even counting that that is off shore, than all the Arab and South American countries combined.  They feel it is sad that we allow ourselves to be beholding to those countries for our oil when we have much more than we need here and enough to export and dominate the world market of oil. 

 In asking them why our country does not drill for our oil, they both replied that it is controlled by the lobbyists of the environmentalists that fear our country would be laid a waste land and some bug or bird may be endangered.  (We have seen this same thinking in Oregon when our lumber industry was laid to waste because of environmentalists that were afraid for some owls' habitat.  Now that we have lost the lumber industry, hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs and we are ravaged by beetle infestations and forest fires from lack of proper management and harvesting of our forests, it has been discovered that those precious owls have moved on to other areas and were quite capable of taking care of themselves, without the lobbyists help.) As we have traveled in Alaska where the pipe line was so heatedly fought in the 60's and expansion of drilling further north has been curtailed by environmentalists complaints we saw no damage of the pipe line.  It seemed to be entirely safe and peaceful with the land and nature.  The worries in Alaska and Oregon were not needed.

 Now, our nation's progress in the oil industry continues to be curtailed by these lobbyists.  Granted, here in Texas, there seem to be a few more eyesores to the landscape.  But to be honest, the rest of the land is going to waste and is not able to be used anyway.  They graze a few head of cattle per hundred acres due to the poor land.

 I would think that with guide lines and regulations, we could have our cake and eat it too.  These two separate geologists told us that there is an oil field in North Dakota and Montana that it alone is larger than all the Arab oil fields put together and yet we do not tap into it, because of the environmentalists lobbying powers.

 As Ann and I travel this vast land and as we see the prices if our fuel continue to rise due to events in the world, we think that our country should follow wise counsel of great men that have told us as for decades that we should all be more self reliant and utilize our own resources to our best ability so as to not be concerned of the ups and downs of the world.

 Our country, we have been told by these oil specialists, could use the ample resources we have to not only become more self reliant as a country, but also be able to pay off our debt to China and other countries, and thus be less beholding to them.

 With a little common sense and utilization of all our resources as a nation, we would be better off.  Let's be responsible, but use what we have been blessed with!!!!

This political rant has been brought to you by the thoughts of a former peace loving, environmentalist hippie that has had his eyes opened as he has traveled and aged.  DRILL BABY DRILL!!