Yesterday, we heard the leader of the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command admit that the flow of oil from the site of the wrecked Deepwater Horizon oil rig probably won’t be stopped until autumn. The House of Representatives heard testimony that toxic dispersants that bioaccumulate up the food chain are now suspended throughout the water column all the way from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico down to the cold water coral reefs on the sea floor a mile below. One third of the entire Gulf of Mexico was closed to fishing because of the oil spill’s pollution. Florida beach towns declared that hotel reservations for the flood of tourists the state is economically dependent upon have nearly disappeared.
Amidst this news, Senator Lamar Alexander took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to lecture the American people. Senator Alexander said that our anger about the oil spill is an “overreaction.” He declared that ending offshore drilling is “bad policy” that won’t be accepted by “grownups”.
Then, Alexander went after green energy solutions that could reduce the amount of oil used by our country. “Stop pretending wind power has anything to do with reducing America’s dependence on oil. Windmills generate electricity, not transportation fuel,” he said. “Wind can be a useful energy supplement, but it has nothing to do with ending our dependence on oil.”
If the senator had bothered to read the transportation news, he might not have made that statement. Yesterday, Nissan announced that orders for its new electric car, the Leaf, reached its annual target in just two months. It seems that demand for electric cars, which could be powered by a combination of clean energy sources such as wind and solar, is extremely high, and some car companies are ready to move forward with electric transportation technology.
Why didn’t Lamar Alexander acknowledge the growing alternatives to last century’s dirty fossil fuel economy? Why was he so angry in his dismissal of Americans’ demands for change?
Perhaps Senator Alexander’s perception of the current crisis in dangerous offshore drilling is being colored by the $228,550 he has taken from the oil industry to help with his next re-election campaign. Alexander’s term in the Senate doesn’t even end for another four years. How much more crude oil money will Alexander accept between now and then?
