News and Tribune - "Sodrel: It's Going to Take 'All of the Above' Energy Policy"

News Article

News and Tribune - "Sodrel: It's Going to Take 'All of the Above' Energy Policy"
By MIKE SODREL

I want to commend Congressman Mike Pence and my former Republican colleagues for taking a stand on energy independence for America. We are currently importing over 60 percent of our energy and exporting over $700 billion dollars a year.

Like most Americans, I'm tired of hearing what won't work. "We can't drill our way out of this problem" isn't a solution. The fact is, we can't resolve this problem without drilling either. It is going to take an "all of the above" energy policy to reach energy independence.

Our economy and our national security depend on America becoming energy independent. Energy independence is necessary to lower our trade deficit and our budget deficit. We must have American energy to grow our food and grow our economy.

Drilling is not the only solution to energy independence. In order to become energy independent, it will take an "All of the Above" energy policy. We need more wind energy, solar energy, water energy, and other renewable sources of energy.

Selling oil from our strategic oil reserve is the wrong thing to do. That oil reserve was created for our national security, not to manipulate the price of oil. We will need this oil to provide for our defense and essential services if foreign oil shipments were interrupted.

We can't keep putting food in our gas tanks either. Using corn and soy beans for ethanol and biodiesel won't work in the long term. It is driving up our cost of food. This hurts the people who can afford it the least.

I recently traveled to ANWR (The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). This area is not all refuge. The southernmost part of ANWR is 9.16 million acres. It is, by definition, a refuge. The center part of ANWR is 8 million acres. It is, by definition, a wilderness area. No one wants to drill in these areas.

The northernmost area of ANWR is not a refuge. It is not a wilderness area. It is a coastal plain sometimes called the North Slope, or the 10-02 area. North Slope refers to the area being on the north side of the Brooks Mountains.

We landed at Kaktovik on Barter Island. Kaktovik is the only community in the 10-02 area of ANWR. It has a gravel runway, one aging hangar, and a radar tower that is part of the DEW (Distant Early Warning) Line of the U.S. Air Force.

We met with the mayor and other residents of the town of Kaktovik. One resident came to the meeting to express his objections to drilling. As we know from our local efforts to build the Interstate 265 bridge, we never have unanimous opinions on any large project.

From Kaktovik we traveled to Deadhorse on Prudhoe Bay. This is the location of pump station No. 1 of the TAP (Trans Alaskan Pipeline) that stretches 800 miles to Valdez, Alaska. It is also the location of the original North Slope oilfields.

From Deadhorse we traveled to Point Barrow. Barrow is the location of the North Slope Borough government. This is the equivalent of county government in the lower 48 states. Barrow would be the equivalent of a county seat here in Indiana.

The North Slope Borough government area consists of a population of about 8,000 plus or minus souls occupying about 94,763 square miles. The area is about the size of Minnesota. About 50 percent of the total borough population lives in Barrow, and the majority are native Alaskans.

Our last meeting was with the governor and lieutenant governor of Alaska. We held a joint press conference in Anchorage before our departure. The consensus among the Alaskans was consistent. They want to drill in the 10-02 coastal plain in ANWR.

The 10-02 area is believed to contain a minimum of 16 billion barrels of oil. There is a 5 percent chance it could contain as much as 42 billion barrels. The Alaskans want to drill there. We know there is oil there. Why would we deny them the opportunity to permit drilling where they want to drill?

Our economy depends on our country becoming energy independent. Our national security depends on energy independence. Energy independence is necessary to lower our trade deficit and budget deficit. In order to become energy independent we need an "All of the Above" policy.

This Congress believes law suits, taxes, investigation, and regulation will solve the problem. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and this Congress delayed a solution for five more weeks. We need to drill now, find more, and use less energy.

Mike Sodrel is from New Albany and is running for election to the 9th District Congressional seat in Indiana.

Source