Urban myths have no place in U.S. energy debate

Urban myths have no place in U.S. energy debate

Kansas City Star: It’s an urban legend that’s easy to believe for some Americans.

In early June, Vice President Dick Cheney told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that China was pumping oil from the Gulf of Mexico.

“... George Will pointed out in his column the other day that oil is being drilled right now 60 miles off the coast of Florida,” Cheney said. “But we’re not doing it, the Chinese are, in cooperation with the Cuban government. Even the communists have figured out that a good answer to high prices is more supply.”

Similar assertions have been made by other elected officials who, like Cheney, support more offshore drilling.

They include U.S. Reps. Sam Graves and Roy Blunt of Missouri, George Radanovich of California, and John Boehner of Ohio. All are Republicans.

Here’s the problem with their claims: China is not drilling for oil off Cuba, according to independent energy experts. Cheney’s office has since acknowledged this.

Floridians should know

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, a Florida Republican, recently refuted Cheney and other drilling proponents.

“China is not drilling off the coast of Cuba,” Martinez said on the Senate floor. “So any talk of using some fabricated China/Cuba connection as an argument to change U.S. policy, in my view, has no merit.”

Although Cheney’s office eventually acknowledged that he had erred, others have continued to repeat the incorrect claim.

This flap has undermined the credibility of those who are calling for additional offshore drilling by the U.S. That’s no panacea for the nation’s energy problems anyway. Better solutions include conservation, more fuel-efficient vehicles, and increased research into hydrogen- and electric-powered vehicles.

Urban legends won’t help build a more secure energy future for America.