Copyright 2000 The Baltimore Sun Company
THE
BALTIMORE SUN
March 28, 2000, Tuesday ,FINAL
SECTION: EDITORAL ,10A LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
LENGTH: 1199 words
BODY:
Our own waste is the root cause of rising oil prices
Karen Hosler
managed to fill around 28 column inches with a discussion of the options
available to rein in oil prices, without mentioning the most efficient approach
to the problem of petroleum dependence in this country ("Congress, Clinton
debate options to rein in gas prices," March 17).
I understand that she
was focusing on the "crisis" presented by increased oil prices at the pump --
which are still well below the prices most of the world's consumers have been
paying for years.
Still, I would like to see some attention devoted to
the real problem -- which is that we in this country use too much oil -- and to
long-term solutions such as alternative energy sources and conservation.
The easiest and most efficient way to reduce our oil consumption is to
raise the Corporate Average Fleet Economy (CAFE) standards for
vehicles sold.
A 40-percent increase in the average miles per gallon
requirement for new cars, which is well within the capability of automakers,
would, after a few years, save more oil each year than we import. The cost would
be minimal.
Republicans in Congress have been blocking this for years.
Yet they are the ones screaming the loudest that President Clinton hasn't done
anything to keep gas prices down.
Aren't these same Republicans some of
the most vocal proponents of the free market economy? Why can't they see there's
a connection between demand and price?
Why must they always do what's
politically expedient or resort to partisan back-biting?
J. Wayne
Ruddock
Baldwin
Here we are, 25 years since the oil crisis made
us realize the dangers of being oil gluttons -- the risk that posed to national
security and our responsibility to future generations, who will need this non-
renewable resource.
For a short time we drove fuel-efficient cars (you
know, the kind that can fit in the back of an SUV). We lowered the speed limit
to save fuel. We even spoke of conservation, public transportation and alternate
energy sources.
A few years ago we had a brief war to keep the oil
flowing and our chests swelled with patriotic zeal at our military might, but we
never considered the possibility of more frequent and more deadly wars to
satisfy our oil addiction.
Now, 25 years later, we're still caught with
our heads in the sand -- under the illusion that the forces of supply and demand
don't apply to us and that there would be unlimited oil if not for greedy
enemies such as the Arabs and Big Oil -- and with our only priority being to get
oil prices back down so we can continue our ever-increasing consumption.
We have met the enemy and he is us.
James Saldutti
Abingdon
Cartoon trivialized hardships of costly gas
While I usually very much enjoy KAL's cartoons, whether I agree with his
point of view or not, I think he seriously missed the mark with his March 18
editorial cartoon regarding fuel prices.
A gallon of milk lasts my
household four or five days, a gallon of orange juice lasts me 10 days. We don't
use beer or spring water, but I do occasionally have a single malt scotch which
would cost hundreds of dollars a gallon, but the gallon would last me five years
or more.
In a pinch I could do without everything but the milk and
orange juice and I could seriously cut back on both.
Gasoline, which I
can't do without because of the lack of transportation alternatives costs me
(today) $1.56 for a gallon, which lasts me 20 to 30 minutes.
The oil price increase is more than an inconvenience and it affects the
prices of all commodities.
Peter D. Albertsen
Baltimore
KAL's cartoon comparing the cost of a gallon of gasoline to that of
other liquids was misleading.
The average individual does not consume
gallons of milk, orange juice, beer, spring water or maple syrup a day, but many
do use at least one gallon of gasoline a day providing the necessities of life
for themselves and their family.
Even if a family drinks 10 gallons of
milk a month at $2.39 a gallon, it would only cost them
$23.90 a month.
If a family consumes one gallon of
gasoline a day, at $1.65 a gallon, going to work, shopping and
running necessary errands, it will cost them $51.15 a month.
Our country's continued prosperity depends on relatively inexpensive
energy costs. Any radical change means a serious change for the worse for
everyone.
Instead of putting a rosy spin on a crisis that is not going
to go away with illogical arguments or deceptive cartoons, this country should
start facing the truth about our dependency on foreign oil.
Joan Butler
Owings Mills
Pacifist's criticism of pope was unfair
I
am a Roman Catholic who takes exception to Colman McCarthy's article on the
pope's recent apology for the Catholic Church's errors ("Papal plea notable for
vagueness," March 19)
Mr. McCarthy nonsensically chose to focus on the
pope's "refusal to cooperate in any way with military violence."
He
proceeded to condemn the United States for any military involvement, even
confronting obvious despots like those who rule Iraq and Yugoslavia.
Far-left extremists like Mr. McCarthy and the Berrigans are not naive
pacifists, but rather dangerous nihilists.
They espouse morality, yet
are oblivious to the obligations of a moral nation's citizenry to uphold its
laws and defend its values. Dictators and murderous militia are not stopped by
the prayers of misguided zealots such as Mr. McCarthy.
They are stopped
by morally grounded citizens who fight for democratic nations' military, keeping
ethical precepts paramount while defending their country or the freedom of
others.
Thomas M. Neale
Baltimore
Coleman McCarthy's
article "Papal plea notable for vagueness" should have been titled "Papal piling
on." Mr. McCarthy took recent criticisms of the pontiff's apology for the
church's historic wrongs as a chance to attack Pope John Paul II.
The
United States has certainly been part of questionable military actions; but, as
I'm sure the author is aware, many church leaders actively protested those wars.
Mr. McCarthy also to ignore that the actions of the Berrigan brothers --
from breaking into the Catonsville draft center in the 1960s to the recent
trespass in Essex have often been criminal.
The church cannot endorse
these actions and expect to be considered legitimate by world leaders and
policymakers.
Ralph L. Sapia
Ellicott City
The pope
still has some apologies to make
The pope's apology is the first step in
healing across the faiths. However, more should be done ("Pope apologizes
publicly for errors of the church," March 13) .
The pope should now
consider making specific apologies for the more resented of Catholic misdeeds,
such as the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the church's silence during the
Holocaust.
It would also be advisable for him to act quickly, so that
resentment will not grow because of a feeling of neglect.
Justin L.
Bloch
Aberdeen
Correction
A letter on last Friday's
editorial page should have identified Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich as the congressman
from Maryland's 2nd Congressional District.
The Sun regrets the error.
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