As the U.S. Senate fell one vote short of passing the Keystone XL Pipeline, the arguments and issues surrounding the vote seemed to represent our country’s constant battle over oil energy.
Since its discovery, oil has been a critical part of the economy of the United States, but also the source of a distinct problem regarding both the environment and national security.
There is no simple way to approach oil energy in the 21st century without accepting the compromise that oil represents.
Some believe global climate change can only be improved by the reduction of oil production, thereby reducing oil consumption. But that correlation has never been proven. Limiting production, as Arab states have done over the years, only drives up prices and thereby encourages increased exploration.
Some believe that increased North American oil exploration will guarantee better national security through greater energy independence. But while that makes sense, few accept that this energy independence will come at a significant cost to the environment.
We cannot have it both ways, yet we tend to make our arguments from the wings of the issue.
Many Democrats voted no on the Keystone XL pipeline because it would encourage more oil exploration in Canada’s tar sands and that would increase global climate change.
But the fact is that if the pipeline is not built to the Gulf of Mexico, the oil will still be produced and simply shipped by rail across Canada and into the U.S. The pipeline is not a key to oil production. And not building the pipeline will not rid the world of the growing demand for crude from India, China and of course, the U.S.
If we ever decide to approach oil issues with our eyes open, accepting the benefits and problems with domestic production, we can actually make progress on general issues. But if we are only going to approach oil issues from the idea of reducing climate change versus jobs at any costs, we will make very little progress.
This may seem like an issue that only pertains to national policy and the U.S. Senate. However, the use of fracking in Colorado will guarantee that citizens of the Centennial State will be placed right smack dab in the middle of this debate.
We can learn from this moment and decide to take a different tact, or we can simply see this as a preview of the contentious discussions to come.
It’s our choice.
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About The Blogger
- Dominic Dezzutti, producer of the Colorado Decides debate series, a co-production of CBS4 and Colorado Public Television, looks at the local and national political scene in his CBSDenver.com blog. Read new entries here usually every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Dezzutti writes about federal, state and local matters and how our elected leaders are handling the issues important to Colorado. Dezzutti is also the host and producer of the Emmy award winning Colorado Inside Out on Colorado Public Television.
