My Take on the Oil Supply

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Genesis 1:28

There is much talk on the price of oil and the President Bush's proposal to increase oil drilling and exploration here in the United States.

While I agree that we should encourage the development of alternative sources of energy, I completely understand that those alternative sources of energy are not going to available to "general masses" of people for a long time to come.

I also understand that the typical consumer is having a difficult time "making ends meet" with the current state of oil prices.

I further understand that there is no quick fix.

However, I disagree with Congress' on their reluctance to allow further exploration of and drilling for oil in the United States.

God has richly blessed the United States with abundant natural resources. He has given us these resources not to simply "sit on" but He has given them to us to use. God has made us stewards of these resources. He commanded us to "subdue" the earth. That's a pretty strong word. Now, before anyone accuses me of simply wanting to "exploit" our resources at the expense of the "environment," please read on. (No, I am not an environmentalist that enjoys hugging each tree that I walk by.)

I believe that we can use the natural resources that God has given us in a responsible manner without destroying the environment. (No, I do not believe in Global Warming and yes, I would much rather save a baby from an abortion than I would a whale from slaughtering block.)

However, again, there is no quick fix. Even if Congress followed President Bush's ideas and allowed further drilling for oil, we wouldn't see any of that oil for quite some time. I read an article today that said it would be 3 years before we saw any additional oil. We must also increase our refining capabilities. Gasoline doesn't come out of the ground. It has to be refined from the raw material - oil.

That is one reason why it doesn't make too much sense for OPEC to pump more oil. Example: If the current refining capabilites is to be able to produce 100 gallons of usable gasoline a day, it doesn't matter how much oil is pumped. The refining capabilities need to be increased as well.

I've not used my blog in the was before but these thoughts have been swirling around in my mind for several days and they needed to be let out.