You may have seen on the entertainment blogs that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin landed a lucrative reality TV contract with Discovery Network’s TLC (the same one that brought us John and Kate plus Eight) to help “reveal Alaska’s powerful beauty as it has never been filmed.”
Drill, Baby, Drill? Palin's ideal way to highlight the beauty of Alaska? Image Courtesy of Greenpeace UK
While no one has seen the show yet, it’s hard to imagine it being anything other than a vehicle for more of Palin’s anti-environment views. As Governor, Palin encouraged opening the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, and was “not one who would attribute [global warming] to being man-made” despite consensus among the scientific community. She even offered a bounty for the left leg of any wolf shot and killed in the Alaskan wilderness. I wonder if the show is going to reveal the beauty of Alaska by shooting it from 200 feet in the air – that sounds entertaining!
One danger in giving her a microphone is that more people might start to listen. Her call of “Drill, Baby, Drill” seems to have caught the ear of President Obama. Yesterday, he announced the opening of 130 million acres to offshore oil drilling.
Most people already recognize that special interests are dominating the debate in Washington—they don’t need any help from Palin. Oil and gas companies spent $154 million dollars lobbying in 2009 to block progress on clean energy and climate legislation. Against those odds, it appears that President Obama and Senator Kerry believe opening up our coasts to Big Oil is necessary to generate the 60 votes needed for a comprehensive energy and climate bill.
But drilling is not part of a new clean energy future and doesn’t produce green jobs. Offshore exploration will not end our dependence on foreign oil, break our addiction to fossil fuels, or speed up the transition to clean, renewable, homegrown, American energy.
And, we know that the President understands this. In June 2008, he said “It would have long-term consequences for our coastlines but no short-term benefits since it would take at least ten years to get any oil… It will take a generation to reach full production…When I’m President I intend to keep in place the moratorium here in Florida and around the country.”
Moving the U.S. to a new energy economy is going to be a huge task and we need our energy dollars spent on installing renewable energy and research and development of new technologies. Offshore drilling will not end our dependence on foreign oil, or create sustainable jobs here in America. (See the study on how renewable investment creates three times as many jobs as fossil fuel investment).
For the U.S. to lead the world in the 21st century, we need to repower America and “skate where the puck is going” (as Energy Secretary Chu likes to say) by investing in the technologies of the future. While I’m sure many will tune into Palin’s new show, let’s treat it as what it is—entertainment—not a blueprint for America’s energy policy.
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