Save Texas!
Ross contemplates the Texas Government and TTC Projects.
by Ross Vick
As a fellow Texan under the gun to sell my family land in Trinity County so that the TTC can destroy and pave over 6000 acres of timber, I find myself in sympathy with those who would rather not disturb what is left of the pristine wildlife and lands of Alaska. It's not a sin to ask Americans or make them aware of the benefits of using less oil by asking them to consider eating local produce, driving smaller cars, walk or bike when they can and keeping the thermostat a degree or two higher.
We can't all drive Chevy Suburbans, pick ups and gas inefficient vehicles and then complain about the cost of gas and the diminishing supplies of oil. Mass Transit and a long term solution of utilizing our existing network of roads will be our best hope of planning for the fuel and transport needs of our nation and the world. And like everything else that seems to come out of Washington in general and the Republican Party in particular the Trans Texas Corridor is another disaster in the making. It will destroy when completed over 1million acres of private Texas lands –taken against the will of the land owners-- in order to make room for a transportation system based on fairy tales and the egos of the Governor and his colleagues in the transportation business at the state and national levels.
I did get in the mail today information from Congressman Pete Sessions about H.R. 5015 that looks promising. Implementing something of this kind looks to be a good first step to really helping Americans with their financial woes.
Stated clearly the current price of gas has little to do with current supply and demand. It has to do with speculators putting their money in oil futures instead of U.S. Treasury bonds. The financial markets of the world have more faith in oil than they have in the American Dollar. ExxonMobil just reported an $11billion profit for the first quarter of this year. I'd say there's your answer right there. That and the amount of fuel the U.S. Military needs to keep the war in Iraq going, not to mention the war itself which keeps that oil rich region in turmoil, which in turn affects the price of oil. So, in reality the Americans are paying with our lives, our tax dollars to the tune of $billions a quarter and the rising fuel prices to keep a few politicians view of our national pride from getting bruised. The world could care less. They just want us to quit invading countries "preemptively" which in turn leads to the killing, the suffering and the chaos.
We need a consumption reduction program in this country on a major scale. We need better gas mileage from our vehicles and more efficient homes, appliances and power plants. Americans are like addicts--as the President said "we're addicted to oil." Breaking that addiction is key. Americans live like it's our birthright to burn as much oil as we can afford, and then we want our government to pick up the tab when we can't afford it comfortably any more. As a nation we're like the poor soul who is surviving barely pay check to pay check, living on cigarettes and beer with a satellite dish, flat screen TV and internet hook up in their factory built home; and then asking the government for help with their health care costs and food. We just don't do a very good job of helping folks with their priorities.
The priority is to keep an eye on those things which will keep America safe and as prosperous as possible. Implementing oil consumption reduction plans is like finding an oil field bigger than the Alaskan oil fields—except better because it will last forever. It's just harder to do and we Americans don't like facing the hard choices at home. We're at a great time in our history to choose alternative methods of fueling our power plants and vehicles. I wonder who in the Senate and Congress will have the courage to make this happen?
You will continue to have my support as you are able to help bring about changes in our national policies which encourage the wise use of our natural resources which also assure the preservation of our lands and wildlife. We can make more fuel. We can't make more wilderness.
