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November 10, 2004 Mis-oil-formation Donald Trump is only one of many famous people spewing fiction about the nation's fuel needs, leaving the public misled. COMMENTARY By Chuck Moran Albuquerque Tribune Recently, Donald Trump was on the Don Imus show when the topic of $50-a-barrel oil came up. The highly vaunted businessman, who scolds, encourages and instructs his potential "apprentices" in front of a national TV audience, shared his wisdom with Imus listeners. I'll paraphrase what he said: "We just need to tell the Saudis that we want $40 a barrel oil. If not, we tell them, 'You're fired.' " His brash statement was stunningly ignorant, only he didn't know it. Imus didn't know it, either, nor did his band of in-studio misfits. This is a problem. If folks with the status, influence and business acumen of Trump and Imus don't have even a basic understanding of the fuel that is the life blood of the modern world, then what kind of knowledge does the average citizen have? Certainly, a business leader such as Trump should know that oil is sold on the commodities market, which means those who produce it don't set the price; they take the price that is set for them. But even if we could suspend the rules in this one instance so Saudi Arabia and others we buy oil from could sell us the black gold for $10 less per barrel than the price set on the global market, why would they do it? The United States guzzles 21 million barrels of oil a day, of which 12.5 million must be imported. Any "apprentice" could quickly figure out this represents a discount of $125 million every day. That's an annual price cut of $45.6 billion. This is not a trivial matter. It's deadly serious. Unfortunately, Trump is only one of many famous people spewing bogus information to an unsuspecting American public. Because these American icons are influential, the people are misled. Trump is probably just guilty of being a blowhard who knows less about oil than he does about tasteful hair styles. But there are others who have made anti-industry activism part of their public persona. These are the people who are most dangerous, because they claim great knowledge about energy but nonetheless speak - intentionally or unintentionally - with astonishing inaccuracy. Two examples are actors Robert Redford and Ted Danson, who both preached their "oil is bad" message in New Mexico this year. One has to wonder if Redford and Danson were cursing the evils of oil as they flew in and out of New Mexico on their fuel-guzzling private jets. While both actors-turned-activists talked about the need to restrict drilling for oil and natural gas in America's "wild places," the two also talked about becoming "energy independent." Now that would be quite a trick, even in Hollywood. We're supposed to reduce or even stop importing oil and halt exploration for new sources of American petroleum at the same time? What will replace the millions of barrels of oil Redford and Danson don't want Americans to use in their cars, businesses and homes, on the farm, in the factory and in flight, in plastics, in chemicals and in paint, and in tens of thousands of products from lipstick to asphalt? Renewable energy, they proclaim, led by wind and solar power! Should we be surprised that men who play fictional characters in made-up places don't feel the need to be restricted by a little thing called reality? Wind and solar power - energy sources we support - currently contribute two-tenths of 1 percent of our energy needs. Even the most enthusiastic "green energy" experts concede these "renewables" will never be more than minor players in the overall energy picture. And, of course, wind and solar plants make electricity, which does nothing to help us with our biggest energy challenge by far - the need to fuel cars, trucks, tractor-trailers, planes and the like. One day in the distant future, we may be able to wean ourselves off the fossil fuels that power the modern world. But until that day arrives, we need to keep finding and producing the oil and natural gas that are as vital to our survival as food and water. As for "energy experts" Trump, Redford and Danson, I invite the American consumer to deliver a spirited message to them, hand gesture optional: "You're fired." Moran is president of the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico.
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