Petroleum Council: Crude has a "finite life"

Monday, August 24, 2009

From an editorial in the Green Bay Press Gazette:

The U.S. State Department Thursday approved a permit to build a pipeline from Canada's oil sands to refineries in the United States, including one line that crosses Wisconsin. The approval is an important step in the attempt to rebuild our economy.

Environmentalists tried to convince Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to deny the permit — the Web site dirtyoilsands.org says the oil-rich sands of Alberta "produce the world's most harmful type of oil for the atmosphere, emitting high volumes of greenhouse gases during development, which contribute to global warming."

This "dirty oil" is not the most environmentally friendly source of energy. But as Erin Roth, executive director of the Wisconsin Petroleum Council, told the Green Bay Press-Gazette editorial board last week, the alternative is even less friendly: increased imports of oil from the Middle East, Venezuela and other sources that do not necessarily care about American interests.

"We all believe crude has a finite life," Roth said. That's true — and so the search for alternative, renewable fuels must continue as swiftly as possible.