His plan will simply empty the bucket

So now we’ve heard another Bush press conference. The centerpiece is the energy policy. At least it has the virtue of simplicity: instead of conserving to reduce demand, he’ll increase supply. He can’t reduce gas prices, but his tax cut will help a few people pay them.

The trouble is, it can’t be done.

Think of the earth as a big bucket, with a fixed amount of oil, gas and coal. Fossil fuels, created over thousands of years. When we empty the bucket, there’s no place to go for a refill.

So when he and Mr. Cheney say they’ll increase supply, what they really mean is, we’ll empty the bucket faster. Leaving our grandchildren, and theirs, with nowhere to re-fill the bucket.

OK: nuclear energy. But how will he deal with the radioactive waste that will be toxic for thousands of years? Alternative, renewable energy sources? Years down the road – because these people want them to be years down the road.

It will enrich a few families at the very top, for a very few years. The bucket of fossil fuels will be empty; the forests will be mowed down, the wells run dry. For our grandchildren, and for his. In a world glutted with overpopulation, increasing now by nearly 9,000 persons – per hour. It’s a fraud.

Arlington