| http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/opinion/23367_mathis17.shtml
Suspiciously-timed energy crisis Thursday, May 17, 2001 By DEBORAH MATHIS SYNDICATED COLUMNIST WASHINGTON -- I was happy to learn that my elderly aunt left California to visit relatives just before the latest round of rolling blackouts. In previous episodes, she had been, in many ways, inconvenienced and, in a few ways, endangered by the sudden loss of electric power in her home and on Fresno's streets. But my aunt did not escape the energy problems entirely. The price of gasoline has shot up all over the country. And the analysts say it's just the beginning; the price hike has not peaked yet. California's problem is the old supply-and-demand conundrum. Energy companies can't generate enough capacity to serve all of the people all of the time in the nation's most populous state. The gas pump problem is, we're told, a result of the same dilemma. There's a logic to that. But the timing is curious. Why now and why all of a sudden? I don't recall having heard a peep about these troubles looming on the horizon. And it's not as if California's population exploded overnight or that Americans' consumption went through the roof out of the blue. Situations like these occur gradually. Catastrophes they may be, but they are evolving catastrophes. More like the hurricane, which gives notice, than the earthquake, which can happen in a flash. If the people who study this stuff knew it was coming, what were they waiting for, the census? Republicans claim the Clinton administration was at fault for having no viable energy policy in place -- a policy with insight and foresight. A policy that might have prepared us for the supply shortages and, better than that, would have averted or at least eased the pain by encouraging both conservation and production. Indeed there were no alarms sounded by the Clinton Energy Department. In fact, energy was hardly ever so much as mentioned during the Clinton years, except for the brouhaha over secrets allegedly being stolen from Los Alamos. Conceivably, it is sheer coincidence that a "crisis" has erupted just when a new administration takes hold. Sheer coincidence that the new administration is a very dear friend of the big oil companies, which have been itching to get into heretofore off-limits terrain because there's black gold in them thar hills. Sheer coincidence that both the president and his supremely influential vice president owe many of their millions to the oil industry and presumably remain friends in need. Maybe this energy crunch would have occurred no matter who had won the White House or what their histories were. But the Bush crowd is suspect -- not only because of the aforementioned ties but also because of how it is going about trying to fix what's broken. They want to drill in coastal waters and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where the oil companies are champing at the bit. The environmental ramifications are worrisome -- a gamble, at best. Secondly, the administration is pushing increased production as an economic boon. It would not only ensure what White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer called our "blessed" way of life -- read that, self-indulgent -- but, here's the newest twist: The drilling operations and new refineries would create tons of new jobs. It must be noted that many a corrupt bargain has been struck over the "new jobs" promise. Poor communities are particularly vulnerable. They are often so hungry for jobs and income that they welcome big, belching refineries to the neighborhood, only to suffer considerable health and environmental hazards. Look, for example, to the stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, where refineries have lined the waterfront. You know what they call the towns dotted along the way? Cancer Alley. There is no question that energy is a precious commodity and that our society would be drastically changed and damaged without it. But there is more to consider here than cheap gasoline and new jobs. We shouldn't rush into anything. And we must not let the Bush administration jam its sugar-coated policy down our throats. First, they've got some explaining to do. Deborah Mathis is a columnist with Tribune Media Services. |
