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Politicians play a game with world’s energy

Chess is a wonderful game - a game I have never mastered - but still a wonderful game. It involves strategy, critical thinking skills, creativity, and adaptability. In the end, however, it is just a game. Yet, those in Washington and the White House and those who want to get there are playing chess with this nation’s future and our economic wellbeing.

John McCain recently put Barack Obama in check by calling for a resumption of oil drilling in the United States. In an effort to protect their kind, Democrats rushed to the rescue. They used their “rooks” in Congress to create confusion and block any action on offshore drilling and their “pawns” in the media to create a distraction.

Meanwhile, President Bush, acting as McCain’s “bishop” made a flanking move on Obama by revoking the executive order that had banned offshore drilling. While this political chess game has been going on, the real world that the rest of us live in has been falling apart.

As nuclear tensions in the Middle East increased, world oil prices shot up to $147 a barrel. Other commodities such as gold and corn also went higher. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar dropped in value as the U.S. economy continued to sputter.

More U.S. banks failed and inflation hit a 25-year high driven by higher energy costs or, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke put it, the U.S. economy is facing “significant” risks to growth. Simply drilling for more oil is not the answer to our energy needs.
For most Americans, the energy crisis consists of $4 a gallon gas. If gasoline prices were under $3, the majority of Americans would not be interested in what the price of oil is or what McCain or Obama think about energy.

Even the much ballyhooed Food vs. Fuel debate would not be on the front page if gasoline prices were not higher than $4. But in some sectors of our economy, the price of energy is a real and serious issue. Agriculture is one such sector.

Almost every aspect of a farming operation is affected to a greater or lesser degree by energy. From fuel to fertilizer to feed, the cost of raising, processing and marketing a crop has increased directly due to double digit gains in energy costs.

Record high commodity prices have made headlines, but energy costs are quickly chewing up producer profits and, left unchecked, could overtake them.

Unless a solution is found, U.S. farmers will lose money even with $8 corn and $15 soybeans.

A solution to our energy needs must include domestically produced oil, plus renewable bioenergy (ethanol and biodiesel), natural energy, (wind, solar, coal and hydroelectric) and technological energy (battery, hydrogen, nuclear, and fuel cell).

The solution will also require something we don’t like to talk about much: conservation. Yes, we will have to start finding ways to do things in a less energy intensive way.

Notice I did not say stop doing things and go back to the Stone Age like the Kyoto crowd wants. We, as a nation, have to stop living high on the energy hog and use our smarts to figure out how to use less energy.

Let’s face it, if Americans are smart enough to invent the Chia pet and lava lamps, then figuring out how to use a little less energy should be a snap.

Meanwhile, our leaders and leader wannabe’s are busy playing games.

The danger is that they are playing games with our future. The discussion on energy has got to get serious, non-political, and realistic.

It is time to put away the games and get out the puzzles. We have to fit the pieces together to create an energy picture and policy that will insure the survival of our nation and economy.

The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.

7/23/2008