FROM THE CROWE’S NEST

The First Rule Of Holes

The need for more oil has never decreased and never will until it is depleted. If one thinks that the oil problem will get better wait till China comes online as a consumer nation. The development of third world nations into consumer nations will make those gas lines of the seventies and the prices of 2005 seem like a joke. Is any of this a reason to make the fishing industry and the ocean a sacrificial lamb? Is this any reason to disrupt and possibly destroy one of the most productive and unique fishing grounds in the world?

After 10 years of rebuilding stocks and many sacrifices on the part of the fishing industry, any gains that have been realized could be eradicated overnight. The federal government is obviously willing to sacrifice all that the fishing industry has worked for because they failed to develop an energy plan. Their idea of a comprehensive energy plan is make the domestic Hummers and the millions of SUV’s get 12-mpg instead of 10-mpg. To think that we can drill our way out of this oil crisis is ludicrous, laughable and loony.

In the government’s comprehensive inventory of oil they plan to search every inch of the world’s oceans including the areas that were previously moratoria areas. One method they use, seismic testing, operates at 250 decibels while the national guidelines for underwater sound exposure for marine mammals is set at a maximum of 180 decibels. There have been many documented instances of stranding of whales and other mammals due to mid-frequency sonar and seismic testing. The fact that marine species are directly affected by sound waves is pretty well documented.

The fact that in the quest for oil not only marine life but also human lives are expendable is a sad statement. This administration and others in the past have failed miserably when it comes to instituting a rational, reasonable, and effective energy policy. Bottom line is that they make it up as we go from crisis to crisis.

The Coast Guard has confirmed that twenty oilrigs have gone missing in the Gulf of Mexico from hurricane Katrina. Georges Bank was directly in the path of “The Perfect Storm”. Sounds like the perfect place for oilrigs. If this is the best we can do for an energy policy I would say that the First Rule of Holes (when you’re in one, stop digging) should be applied.