Less is More

This letter will not be a literary gem by Andy-standards; it’s more-or-less a necessity to attain restful sleep again. For three weeks I’ve brainstormed a rebuttal to March 6th’s letter to the editor, “It’s the Economy, Stupid”, but I’ve struggled to trim 3000 words down to 500; there’re too many claims made that contradict issues I’ve previously discussed, albeit backhandedly, rhetorically or overly poetically at times.

In doing so, I’ve included my email address because I believe a conversation is needed to credibly address the social problems we all recognize but which “Stupid” claims will be fixed by taking control of our own oil production and lynching environmentalists.

“Stupid” wants you to believe that since global warming is a farce we should continue to rape oil fields and stop wasting precious farmland on biofuel production. It’s based on tailored research (http://ideonexus.com/2008/03/05/hey-everybody-its-another-global-cooling-report/), the kind I’d use to claim that since I held my breath for 40 seconds I died.

“Stupid” essentially employs a staying-the-course rationale; rationale which President Bush is endlessly mocked for but also one which we have applied to for much longer than eight years. It plays to our simple yet spiritually-contradictory belief that money will solve our problems.

I continually beg for feedback because I’m not seeing solutions to social problems by expanding homes, expending more energy, and extending the class divides we somehow believe is a part of a harmonious society. I honestly don’t see the point in studying the failures of social/political systems like Feudalism in schools or praising Moses for wrestling his people from the Pharaohs in church if we simultaneously educate our children that their worth in life is based on the amount of capital they accumulate and status they socially earn.

“Stupid” says our impending food crisis will be averted by ceasing the biofuel movement, yet says nothing about the homes that have devoured nearly every piece of farmland in our surrounding communities.

Want to discuss our food crisis?

First recognize that land is increasingly being used more for storing people and food than is being used producing food. Add in the mindset that every person is supposed to live this way unless they want to be considered uncivilized or third-world. Couple in the component that our system is fueled by oil, a substance of recognizably limited quantity, and what you have is a system which either devours every parcel used to produce a true life necessity or which selfishly depletes its food transportation, production, and storage mechanism.

Like I said, I may have been more articulate in the past, but I’ve done so out of fear of offending. After hearing enough ridiculous yet same-ol’ suggestions for societal change, seeing Manasquan withstand three bomb-scares in a month, and watching Wall tackle social problems by eliminating student counselor positions, I’m deciding to say something redonculous myself. Time and lives are a wastin’.

It's the Economy, Stupid by Robert D'Andrea

A recent article [www.dailytech.com], dated Feb. 26, explains that world temperatures over the past year have dropped precipitously according to all the four major global temperature-tracking networks [Hadly, NASA's giss, UAH and RSS]. NOAA states that carbon dioxide has only increased by 1.5 ppm per year for the past 50 years, or about a total of 74 ppm. This insignificant rise is not enough to be the cause of global warming because as the carbon dioxide levels slowly increased, the temperature levels should also increase -- and they have, until last year. The temperature levels are now decreasing. This shows that carbon dioxide is not the cause of global warming.

This opens the door to tap our own oil and gas resources and resolve our increasing economic and social problems, not only for New Jersey, but also for our nation. President Bush has always said that it is time to end our dependence on foreign oil and gas and start developing and using our own resources.

This will break the OPEC monopoly they have on us, and the price of oil will decrease. Remember, voters are already worried about the economy, inflation and the high cost of gasoline and food. The farmers are happy with wheat at $25 a bushel. Wait until we get the bread bill. We must also help alleviate an impending food shortage crisis that is being caused by diverting acreage to bio fuels.

Producing more of our own oil and gas, will keep $400 billion per year to be used here and not given to the terrorist and dictators. Our third world "friends" will benefit with affordable energy and we will alleviate hunger if we start planting more crops for food -- not fuel.

Maybe Gov. Corzine's budget would benefit from offshore drilling. Alaska does. If nothing is done now, I hope you are not planning on staying in office for long, because alternative furls and energy systems are years away. I hope the environmentalists, who got us into this mess, will start walking to save energy for the rest of us. Remember, "it is the economy, stupid," and it is based on oil and gas.

ROBERT D'ANDREA
Vroom Avenue, Spring Lake

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See Tadvocate's Rebuttal