In his latest blather about the Keystone XL pipeline, Edgar Allen Beem blames Republicans for “standing in the way of transportation infrastructure improvements.” Please Mr. Beem, name them.

Later in the column Beem says that paying $2.20 a gallon does not even cover the cost of highway maintenance. So Republicans block highway maintenance, but then there is not money for it anyway?

And then there is the totally false claim that President Obama, apparently all by himself, has increased oil production by 50 percent. Two little facts prove that to be untrue. One, President Obama has denied fracking on federal lands; all the increased production has happened on private land and was done by private businesses. And two, President Obama has ordered his Commerce Department to “slow walk” all permits for new oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico, i.e., delay granting them as long as possible. New permits have just about dried up during his administration. He has intentionally stifled oil production wherever he has authority.

I have always felt that if we are to obtain the majority of our energy needs from fossil fuel we should be willing to bear part of the burden of supporting the industry. A fine oil refinery could have been built at the Brunswick Naval Air Station. It would have provided excellent jobs and not affected the environment at all.

With Beem’s anti-oil attitude I think it high time he quit using oil. After all, how can you argue against oil and still drive a “fossil fuel-mobile”? Good luck with your bicycle.

Harry White
Scarborough


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