A better alternative

The major news media reported last week that a “massive” new oil discovery was made in Alaska described as the “largest U.S. onshore oil discovery in 30 years.”

This “massive” new discovery is expected to yield 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil. The United States consumes an estimated 7.08 billion barrels every year. This means that this massive oil discovery, the biggest in 30 years, amounts to about two months’ supply for the U.S.

The U.S. imports 3.4 billion of barrels of oil per year. This largest domestic discovery in 30 years amounts to approximately three months of what the U.S. imports every year. If we rely on oil for our future energy needs, we are in trouble not only from a climate perspective but also from a supply perspective.

Meanwhile, alternative energy offers many times this massive oil discovery if we just make use of the “free” energy offered by natural sources such as solar and wind. Solar and wind energy require no costly exploration, no shipping of oil thousands of miles to refineries, no transporting billions of gallons of gasoline. Just set out a solar panel or windmill and the electricity flows into the grid.

This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 9:06 PM with the headline "A better alternative."