We Can Have More Oil and a Clean Environment

Back in the early 1970s, during the oil crisis brought on by an Arab embargo, there was a major push by the American oil companies to build a gigantic pipeline through Alaska, from the Arctic permafrost to the southern coast.

As an idealistic college student who got caught up in the environmental movement of the time, I was opposed to the pipeline. I even sent a telegram to Pres. Nixon urging him to quit backing the effort to build it.

But, alas, the pipeline was built and we starting reaping the benefits of the petroleum flowing through it. The environmentalists won a partial victory in that the design of the pipeline had to be such that it did not melt the permafrost and did not hamper caribou migration.

Fast-forward 35 years or so and we are in the midst of another energy crisis. Gasoline prices are well over four dollars a gallon and continue to creep upward. And just like in the 1970s, there are environmental groups that want to derail any effort to exploit more domestic sources of oil.

But his time around, I’m not on board with them. We learn from our accomplishments from the past, and our mistakes. We know that we can exploit our natural resources without destroying the environment we take them from.

I don’t often agree with the Bush administration on anything. But I do agree that opening up some of our shorelines to drilling for oil, as well as the national park areas of Alaska, would help alleviate the energy crisis. And according to the experts, we can obtain the new oil without destroying the environment.

Critics also point out that any new oil would be at least 10 years away. Well, that’s probably true. But does anyone think the energy crisis will be over in 10 years? No; it will be far worse. The new oil will be coming on line at a time we will need it even more than we do today.

Nuclear energy is another technology that needs to be restarted. We haven’t built a nuclear power plant in the U.S. for 30 years. The ones we do have are aging. Replacing them with modern plants would be safer. Building additional ones would decrease our reliance on foreign oil and would also be much cleaner for the atmosphere. Nuclear fuel also does not add to global warming.

We have to strike a balance between protecting our environment and protecting our lifestyle. With new technologies, we can actually have the best of both worlds. But many of today’s environmentalists are stuck in the 1970s. They equate all progress with raping the land, and it need not be so. It wasn’t even always true back then.

If we started a national drive to build 100 new nuclear power plants and replace some of the old ones within 20 years, and if we allow off-shore drilling and the exploration of the Arctic for new oil sources, we could become energy independent. And as long as we made the efforts we did back in 1975 not to destroy the environment while we’re taking the oil from it, our kids and grand-kids will enjoy cleaner air than we do.

Energy independence is within our reach. We just need to start realizing that gaining that independence doesn’t necessarily mean destroying the environment. We need to start using what we have and stop relying on foreign sources for our energy.

Happy Progeny Day?

A few years ago, I wrote a column lamenting the fact that there are no holidays in the middle of summer, except for the Fourth of July. By summer, I am referring to those months that most people think of as being summer months: June, July, and August. And the middle of summer would include the period between July 4 and August 31.

Look on your calendar; there is nothing of any significance between those two dates. Yes, I know, it is summertime. We don’t necessarily need a holiday to celebrate fun in the sun. But, still, it would be nice to have something. That is nearly two whole months in which there isn’t even a minor holiday, like Groundhog Day. No other time of year is so void of formal calendar observations.

I looked it up just to be sure I didn’t miss something. I didn’t.

There’s Hoya Hoye Night, which is a children’s festival celebrated in mid-August, in Ethiopia. There is Ivan Kupala Day on July 7, which is a celebration of John the Baptist by the Orthodox Church in Russia. And let’s not forget Lughnasadh. It is a Gaelic holiday celebrated on the first of August, marking mid-summer.

There are several holidays celebrating the solstice, mostly in Europe. But these all occur on or around June 24, not within the two-month stretch I’m talking about. So that’s about it for summer celebrations anywhere in the world. I guess it’s just not we who have nothing official to celebrate during the middle of summer.

Our next official holiday is Labor Day. It is celebrated on the first Monday in September. So this year, it is as early as it can be, September 1. By then, school will have already been in session about two weeks in most places.

I think I probably mourn the dearth of summer holidays more than most people because I run a Web site devoted to holidays. I make money through the advertising that appears on those pages. So no holidays means less money. Sigh.

But at least it is summer. And, really, who needs an excuse to celebrate when you can go outside without a coat? That’s one of my least favorite parts about winter, having to wear a coat.

At any rate, I think there should be some kind of celebration in August. We don’t necessarily have to declare it a federal legal holiday. No, I want my mail delivered. It should be equivalent to St. Patrick’s Day or Valentine’s Day. After all, the card, candy, and flower shops desperately need another holiday when they get to sell stuff.

Maybe the Ethiopians have it right. We have a day in celebration of mothers, fathers, and grandparents. Perhaps we should have a day to celebrate kids (besides Christmas). We could call it Progeny Day. We could give them a festival of their own just before we send them back to school.

Scammed by the Plumber

You expect businesses to make a profit; that’s what they are in business for. You might even expect some of them to overcharge for goods and services, such as convenience stores or mom-and-pop shops. But you don’t expect a well-known operation that advertises on TV every day and touts their professionalism above all else to rip you off.

Well, I learned my lesson. I had a small leak from the supply pipe under my bathroom sink. I’m not handy, nor did I want to get down there and tighten it, lacking tools, so I called a plumber. It was Attaboy Plumbing in Indianapolis. One of their claims to fame is that there is no up-front service fee if they do the work.

So the guy comes out, tells me there will be no service fee and then looks at my pipe. “Oh yeah, that won’t be too bad. It’s pretty simple,” he said. So then he looks through his price list and shows me. “This is the discounted price I’m giving you,” he said as he pointed to what I knew had to be a misprint. It said $147.

“What? You’re charging me $147 to replace a five-dollar piece of copper?” I asked. “Why don’t I just pay you the $89 service fee that you’re NOT charging me?”

He said he couldn’t do that. I suspected as much.

So after I told him it had only cost me $69 in labor to install an entire toilet that I bought at Lowes, he called his boss. His boss told him to come down to the minimum amount they charge for anything, $131.

I had little choice. I could pay $89 for nothing and try to fix it myself, or I could pay the $131. I paid it.

So if you live in the Indianapolis area and if you ever need a plumber, call someone else and pay for the service call. Most places include at least 30 minutes worth of labor in that price. It took the guy less than 15 minutes to replace the pipe. Attaboy Plumbing has a nice scam going on.