Politico: Safety helps energy independence

Last year, thousands gathered on the National Mall to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Building on historic clean air and water victories, the environmental movement was looking toward clean energy solutions that create jobs and power America's energy future.

Little did we know that, 1,100 miles to the south, thousands of feet below the sea floor, our energy past was poised to deliver a deadly blow in the Gulf of Mexico. The 41st anniversary of Earth Day is also the first anniversary of the BP oil spill - the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history. Eleven people lost their lives that night. Over the next three months, more than 4 million barrels of oil poured into the Gulf of Mexico, coating beaches and marshlands.

One year later, much has been learned from this tragedy. Blowout preventers touted by the oil industry as "fail safe" could be "sure to fail." Oil company response plans had instructions to evacuate walruses and listed a long-dead expert as emergency contact in the event of a spill. Safety failings were deemed "systemic" to the industry, which was unprepared for a deepwater disaster.

Unfortunately, the Republican House majority remains stuck in a pre-spill mentality. Ignoring common-sense safety recommendations made by the bipartisan spill commission, the GOP is charging ahead with its "oil above all" agenda - favoring speed over safety.

Rather than pushing oil companies to drill for the billions of barrels of oil under the tens of millions of acres of public land the federal government already owns, Republicans want to give away huge swaths of America's pristine East and West coast for drilling, placing family beaches, where our children swim and tourism drives local economies, in harm's way.

They want drilling permits approved in 60 days, whether or not an environmental review is completed. We need to review the safety lessons from the BP spill - not lessen safety review.

Drilling is just one part of the oil-above-all agenda. Killing clean energy is the other. The GOP budget proposal obliterates funding for wind, solar and alternative technologies - Big Oil's competition.

At the same time, the Republican budget preserves billions in tax breaks for oil companies - the largest, most profitable businesses in the history of the world.

Protecting oil's monopoly in transportation is crushing U.S. consumers at the pump. In the past two weeks, gas prices jumped 20 cents per gallon, punishing families and businesses. Oil passed $108 a barrel - an April record.

In 2010, Americans sent $140 billion to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Spending on foreign oil overall represents half our trade deficit.

The United States, with only 2 percent of the world's oil, consumes nearly 25 percent. Domestic oil production is at its highest level in nearly a decade. Natural gas production is at an all-time high under the Obama administration. Even with our limited supply, the U.S. is now the third largest oil producer. But has all that drilling lowered gas prices? No.

Oil is priced on a global market, where OPEC is king. Fred Smith, the chief executive officer of FedEx, said it best: ‘The oil market is not a free market. It is managed by OPEC in a manner which, if it were done in the United States, would be illegal."

To address gas prices and help families at the pump, we must do the following:

First, release and swap oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve - now at full capacity, 727 million barrels. Releasing a fraction of the SPR is a proven way to lower gas prices.

When President George H.W. Bush deployed the SPR in 1991, prices fell more than 33 percent. President Bill Clinton's timed exchange in 2000 dropped prices 19 percent. After Hurricane Katrina, an SPR release brought oil prices down 9 percent.

Second, crack down on out-of-control oil speculators. Current gasoline supplies are consistent with this period last year, but prices at the pump are nearly $1 higher. Economists suggest up to $20 of oil's price per barrel comes from speculation, not supply and demand.

Third, move forward on fuel economy and other oil-saving measures that strengthen our energy security. U.S. consumers know more miles per gallon means more dollars in their pocket. More than 70 percent of Americans support the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to enforce environmental rules, according to a recent CNN poll. Preserving EPA's authority to take actions that can reduce oil demand could help reduce oil use by as much as 5 million barrels per day by 2030. That equals everything we now import from OPEC and places the U.S. back in the driver's seat of its energy future.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee and a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

By: Rep. Ed Markey
Source: Politico