Snake Oil

Of all the missteps the News and Observer has made in recent years, the inclusion of Rick Martinez on their op-ed page is among the saddest. Week after week, N&O executives allow the right-wing zealot to spew Puppetshow talking points across their pages without regard for the damage he inflicts. This week, Martinez heralds the discovery of a supply of oil in North Dakota, which he believes should be cause for "dancing in the streets."

You might have missed the news, but last week the U.S. Geological Service said it has discovered the largest supply of oil in the lower 48 states. With gasoline flirting with $3.50 a gallon, there should be dancing in the streets. There isn't -- because oil and coal have become politically incorrect energy sources, an injustice that will soon present political and environmental leaders with the most serious moral dilemma in the green movement's history.

Go read the rest of his missive and then ask yourself what "moral dilemma" he's talking about. Because for the life of me, I can't figure it out. I suppose there might be a dilemma if you're a free-market extremist who views low prices and personal greed as the penultimate human values. But if you're a normal person who's worried about the world we're leaving behind for our children, there's no moral dilemma at all. Instead of spending a decade scrambling to rape North Dakota, the moral person will prefer a Manhattan project to develop alternative, renewable and non-polluting energy sources.

To support the increased growth of emerging economies in China, Asia and Africa, oil production is going to have to double by 2050. Failure to provide that oil will result in denial of roads, electricity and other basic infrastructure to these populations. Like it or not, oil is a major anti-poverty tool -- an inconvenient truth that environmentalists will have to face up to sooner or later.

What a numb nut. Oil is a major anti-poverty tool? Yeah, sort of like asbestos used to be a valuable construction material. It's no wonder the N&O is having to downsize its news organization. More and more people are finding its pages shallow and increasingly irrelevant. If N&O management is looking for a place to cut costs, Rick Martinez should be first on the chopping block.