A Better East Texas: Oil drilling

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - President Biden recently authorized a drilling lease on a tract of land in the National Petroleum Reserve on federally owned land in Alaska.

The project will create some limited drilling opportunities and create thousands of jobs in the process. It is a bit of a twilight zone set up since the president pledged not to allow oil exploration on federally owned lands.

It was a pledge that satisfied many environmentalists and no doubt, secured him some votes. So, this new authorization is bewildering for some that took the president at his word. You have to think that some reality is finally sinking in where the president is acknowledging that, as a nation, we will continue to use petroleum-based products for decades to come, regardless of his priority to wean the U-S economy off of oil consumption.

Part of this push is to create more energy independence off of oil that is shipped in from some very bad actors. And the Biden administration noted it would have worked out this way through court action so the outcome was inevitable. Whatever the reason, the needs are many, and it just makes sense even though many in the president’s camp are upset.

We must have the plan for meeting a growing global appetite for oil. The president needs to publicly acknowledge that this is the best path and, honestly, we need more opportunities. The petroleum industry is changing but practically every product in our economy starts with or has reliance on oil. And that can’t be turned off like a light switch.

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