Letters to the Editor:
Oil pricing is complicated
When politicians say that boosting our domestic oil and gas drilling will lower prices and make us less dependent on foreign oil, that is simply a fallacy. Compared to 2008, the U.S. is now producing over twice as much crude oil and 70% more natural gas. In 2019 the U.S. achieved “energy independence.”
Global markets set the price of crude oil. U.S. drillers will sell for the highest price, even if it means exporting their oil overseas. We now export about 3 million barrels of crude oil daily. To complicate matters the U.S. is also a big importer of the heavier grade crude oil that U.S. refineries are optimized for.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has spiked global oil prices and oil companies are realizing tens of billions in additional wartime profits while everyday citizens empty their pocketbooks at the pump. I don’t think the president can be blamed for this extremely complex global situation.
Our reliance on fossil fuels is driving up inflation and fueling the climate crisis. The best thing we can do as a nation is to transition away from volatile and expensive fossil fuels as quickly as possible.
It’s good for your pocketbook and good for our planet. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid of politicians who profess “drill baby drill” as a panacea.
Laura JudgeHolland
Pray that we all can come back together
I was reading the newspaper Oct. 4 about churches in New Jersey being targeted by shooters. What is happening to our country when not even churches are spared from violence?
I, for one, am willing to cross political parties to vote for the candidate who will restore democracy again in the United States. I would urge voters to think of our country first.
The consequences are great just look at those countries with no democracies government who are fighting and killing each other. The people are leaving their country, starving, suffering, especially children and not able to live a normal life.
We need to pray to God to help and guide us to come together for the sake of our Constitution, which has survived us well through the years.
Celestino ReyesHolland
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Letters to the Editor: Oil pricing is complicated
