It’s no secret that I am opposed to new offshore drilling, especially off the coast of Virginia, and I do so on environmental and economic terms. I believe that we stand on the very edge of discovery and development of technologies that will allow us to not only kick our addiction to foreign oil, but carbon fuels altogether. The investment into new oil exploration is an investment not made into this new technology, and thus, is not an investment into the future energy independence and strength of our nation.

We are only now beginning to employ technologies that have been around for decades in our buildings and vehicles. We’re doing so, hopefully, because we see the change in the tide. However, we’ve seen this before, and have in the past reverted to old, outdated, and inefficient technology because it was easy and cheap. It is my hope that our trend toward energy efficiency and independence will not hampered by this sort of shortsightedness. Our failure to continue on this path will keep our nation from moving forward, beyond the woes of carbon fuels.

Rachel Maddow illustrated this clearly in comparing our current oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska to very similar disasters in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska in 1979. What’s clear is that in 31 years, nothing has changed about the way we respond to these major spills. We attempt and fail at using the same methods and technology to stop the leak and prevent the damage cause by the spewed oil. It took nine months for relief wells to be drilled to allow the well in the Gulf of Mexico to be capped in 1979. It’s only been five weeks since our current drilling nightmare began. The same methods have been applied to stop the leak now as was used in 1979. So far, we’re seeing the same results. We’ve seen the damage from just five weeks. Will it be another seven or eight months before we’re able to get the well capped? It’s scary.

Related posts:

1. Sen. Donald McEachin on the Rachel Maddow Show
2. Rachel Maddow: Bob Marshall and Bob McDonnell