Logistics Management

Michael Regan

Adventures in Fantasyland
May 30, 2008

One of the nice things about this Blog is the opportunity to occasionally vent about some of the stupid things we’re seeing in the marketplace. The grand prize winner in the “we’re really stupid when it comes to energy and transportation” category, belongs to some incredibly obtuse Senators and Congressman in Washington D.C. 

Over the past couple of years, I’ve written that this country’s lack of a national energy policy is inexcusable. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that the absence of a national energy policy will result in negative consequences. Thinking you can avoid these consequences is pure fantasy.

How you can tell some of our Senators are living in Fantasyland? Consider some of their actions.  Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tells us that 1,000,000 barrels of daily oil production from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) won’t make any difference in the price of oil, but is demanding that Saudi Arabia increase production by 300,000 barrels in order to bring down the price of oil. Huh?

Senator Dick Durbin, D – IL (arguably, one of our country’s most inept Senators) stands in front of a gas station speaking about his concern for high gas prices; yet for years he has staunchly opposed any exploration for oil in ANWR or the Continental Shelf off the Coast of Florida. He thinks it’s OK for Cuba to drill off of our coast; it’s just not OK for any US based entities to drill in those areas. News alert to the Senators: Conservation efforts alone will not bring down the price of oil, you need to also address the supply issues.

Want more examples of rampant idiocy? Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) recently introduced S.3021, the Safe Truck Operations and Preservation Act, or STOP. This would maintain the current maximum weight limit of 80,000 pounds for tractor-trailers on Interstate highways and establish a maximum length of 53 feet for these trucks. Canada has proven you can run heavier and safer trucks, and increasing the weigh on safely configured rigs would save over 1 Billion gallons of Diesel per year. One would think these facts might influence Senator Lautenberg’s thinking. But as we learned when he introduced his other piece of really bad legislation, SHIPA (S.1140) in 2003, it would require Senator Lautenberg to take off his conductor’s hat and stop working for the railroads.

Recently I read the editorial “545 People” which helped me understand why the price of diesel and gas has skyrocketed. The American public has voted for representatives who place the concerns of special interests groups above the needs of this country. Our Representatives have catered to special interest groups that have killed the intelligent deployment of nuclear energy (even though countries such as France have figured out how to safely use nuclear power), advocated legislation which has made it economically unfeasible to build refineries (which is why it has been over thirty years since a brand new refinery was built in this country), and walked us in to a highway infrastructure crises that is reprehensible.  

But Senators Schumer, Durbin, and Lautenberg, are only part of a group that have ignored viable, intelligent solutions to our energy crisis. Being equal opportunity offenders, we want to note that this Administration, as well as plenty of Republicans and other Democrats, has contributed to this energy crisis. Record deficits, the trashing of the US Dollar, and other misguided legislation will continue to create a burden for all of us.

So here is the question of the day: With diesel having hit $4.72 on the official government schedule, how much higher will the price have to go before you start calling your Congressman and Senators to demand that they stop playing the political game of making the other side look bad, and start acting in the best interests of this country?

It’s easy to contact your Representatives and Senators. Go the following website and type in your address: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/. It will provide you with all the information you need. Thanks for allowing me to vent. 

TranzAct Technologies, Inc.

Posted by Michael Regan on May 30, 2008 | Comments (0)