How Polar Bears Are Raising Oil Prices

This week polar bears were placed on the list of "threatened" species, thus earning them the protection of the U.S. government. This will also ensure that your pain at the gas pump will continue. Here's how.

The move to put polar bears on the "threatened" list is ludicrous to begin with. A species that has experienced a 500% increase in the past four decades is hardly congruent with a label that marks them as threatened for extinction. The argument is that human caused global warming is melting large areas of ice that are an important element of the polar bear's environment, but the numbers just don't add up that way. And the science of global warming is hardly "settled," as evidenced by the 31,000 scientists who have signed a petition stating they don't find the evidence for human induced global warming to be scientifically credible or substantial enough to cause concern. The move not only protects a species that really has no need of it, but also ensures that drilling for oil in Alaska becomes an increasing impossibility. I suspect this was the real motivation.

While I can certainly agree that we need to end our reliance on foreign oil, or better yet, any oil, the reality is that we need it. The economy of the world is based on energy. The energy of convenience and choice is oil. Even if we were to move our automobiles to an alternative form of energy, as fantastic as that would be, we will still need oil. Oil is needed to make plastics. If you don't think that's significant, go through your day and take stock of everything you come in contact with that is made from plastic.

One of the many, many reasons our gas is so expensive is because we must buy our oil from other countries, many of whom hate us (whether or not that's justified is a discussion for another day). We are at their mercy in a very real way. We are also at the mercy of our own environmental laws, regulations, and controversies.