Drill!

Several stories with a common center were scattered all over my newspaper this morning. "Feds to review Shell's Arctic operations" "2012 was hottest yet in U.S." "The state's lawmakers will be sworn in today with Republicans heavily in control"

The common element in these and other recent stories is our national fixation on oil and natural gas supplies as the solution to our problems. The Obama administration supports drilling in the Arctic seas despite the fact that it is against the desires of most Democrats, is very dangerous and costly and, if successful, will exacerbate the problem of global warming. The new Governor and legislators of the State of North Carolina support fracking for natural gas in that state despite the fact that it is predicted to yield less than a 5-year supply of the state's own needs. Also, because of the structure of the shale deposits close to potable water supplies, it is likely to ruin permanently the supply of drinking water in the center of the state.

The power link between these stories is the oil and natural gas lobby. Fueled by the enormous profits of our oil and natural gas companies--I call them "our" companies even though they are all multinationals--the lobbyists bend government policy to suit their own interests, not the true interests of the American public. Yes, in the short run Arctic oil exploration and domestic fracking may reduce energy prices. But in the long run it is going to strangle us slowly with bad air, fouled water, and the ever-increasing costs of fighting pollution and global warming.

One other disturbing element is revealed by this complex of stories. Our state and national leaders lack wisdom and courage. They succumb easily to short-term solutions and bribery. The lack of wisdom in our leaders is nothing new, but the increasing complexity of our economy and our ever-growing ability to exert massive change on our environment require wiser leadership. Without it we are simply hastening the extinction of the human race, not to mention other forms of life on Earth.

In a democracy is it possible for the people to exercise the wisdom needed to elect wise and brave leaders? Yes, but only if the people are well-educated and aware of the facts. So long as we have schools that are underfunded and our adults are routinely misled by the news media, we are in deep doodoo. And it is getting deeper every time we drill.