Reaching for energy independence

In my last column, I talked about the fallacy of drilling our way to lower gas prices. Here, I want to look at the related misconception that we can drill our way to energy independence.

It’s true that we have recently reduced some of our need for foreign oil by significantly increasing production. Following two decades of decline (with a high of importing 60 percent of our oil in 2005), we now import 45 percent. Importing less than half of our oil is certainly progress. A nation that uses 21.1 percent of the world’s petroleum, yet has only 2.2 percent of the world’s proven reserves, cannot attain full energy independence without dramatically reducing its use of petroleum fuels while boosting its use of domestically abundant renewable energy sources. Increasing our use of energy from wind, sun, bio-fuels (with the exception of ethanol) and geothermal sources is our only sure route to long-term energy independence.

Critics of “peak oil” — the view that most of the world’s cheap, accessible oil has been extracted — take issue with the use of “proven oil reserves” in statistical analysis. They point out that there are reserves still awaiting discovery and that technology continues to evolve, making our present reserves more accessible.

“The number to focus on is not the 21 billion barrels of proved reserves on companies’ books, but the nearly 200 billion barrels of discovered and undiscovered ‘technically recoverable oil resources’ onshore and offshore, in the Lower 48 and Alaska,” according to Geoffrey Styles, managing director of GSW Strategy Group at energyoutlook.blogspot.com.

Technologies will undoubtedly facilitate the extraction of reserves currently not economically recoverable, but this argument ignores that there are increased costs even as technology advances. Some of these are economic, some environmental and others related to public health.

The proposed Keystone pipeline that could connect Alberta oil sands fields with the United States has been prominent in the news lately. Canada remains our No. 1 source of imported oil, and it is preferable to maintain ties with our northern neighbor rather than dealing with some volatile overseas nations. Yet extracting this ultra-thick crude incurs costs not currently included in balance sheets and price-per-barrel figures. Our planet, and ultimately future generations, will foot the bill for our unwillingness to change our consumptive habits.

Energybulletin.net reports that, “Producing a barrel of synthetic crude oil from the oil sands by mining requires two to four barrels of fresh water after taking into account water recycling. Companies are currently licensed to withdraw more than 590,000,000 cubic meters of water per year, which is roughly equivalent to what a city of 3 million people would require.”

I invite you to look at photos and data energybulletin.net/node/50186 to see how you feel about supporting this kind of industrial development anywhere in the world. Recent public outcry against coal bed methane extraction in the Matanuska Valley is a testament to a growing awareness of the impacts of enhanced recovery, whether natural gas or crude oil, on public health and quality of life.

Given our nation’s petroleum addiction, it stands to reason that demand for foreign sources of oil will only become greater over time. What other conclusion is there to come to considering inevitable rising domestic-production costs, environmental costs of both onshore and offshore production and our small portion of global supply? The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that the top five countries that import oil to the U.S. represent 69 percent of all our oil imports. These are Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the growth of alternative energy industries here at home is making wind, geothermal, bio-fuel and solar energy more competitive with petroleum for energy production. Hastening this transformation is critical.

Instead of subsidizing oil companies that continue to earn record profits every year, we should channel these tax dollars to expand alternative energy development. A more holistic, less petroleum-centered approach to energy production will create jobs and pave the way for us to attain real and lasting energy independence.

Paul Morley is teacher at Burchell High School.