Gasoline prices have prompted calls from President Bush and
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain for oil
drilling in long-protected lands offshore and in Alaska.
That's a course odious to environmentalists and
resisted for years by most Americans. But with gas prices
topping $4 a gallon, some polls suggest the public mind is
changing.
While polls still show more Americans choose the environment
as a priority over economic growth, the spread is 49 percent
vs. 42 percent, down from 70 percent vs. 23 percent in 2000.
The debate involves whether the nation should do everything
possible to maintain cheap oil and natural gas or to seize
this moment in history as a rallying point for a new
investment in alternative energy sources.
Jonathan Roth, buying lunch recently at the Broad Street
Market in Harrisburg, explained why he supports more
drilling: "I just think the gas prices are extremely
high and there has to be another way."
Meanwhile, spokesmen for environmental groups said the
soaring price of gasoline is focusing public attention on
conservation arguments they've made for years.
"I think our issues gain traction" in times such
as these, said David Masur, director of PennEnvironment.
"There's no other way to go but promoting public
transportation, reducing vehicle miles traveled, greater
fuel efficiency standards, traditional neighborhood
development."
Jeff Schmidt of the Sierra Club in Pennsylvania pointed to
General Motors' closing of plants that made
gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and trucks. "Public
opinion is already affecting corporate decisions," he
said. "We can't drive our way out of our energy
problems."
The argument resonates with Leyna Slater of Camp Hill,
selling homemade cloth bags in the Broad Street
Market's sunny courtyard. Rather than drilling for more
oil, "We should be preserving our natural
resources," she said.
As recently as March, a majority in a Gallup poll said the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should stay off-limits to
oil drilling. Last week, a poll showed 57 percent of
Americans in favor of opening up protected coastal and
wilderness areas for drilling.
The poll did not seek attitudes about conservation
initiatives.
The cross-currents from the debate are being felt in
Harrisburg, too.
For nearly two years, officials have been arguing about Gov.
Ed Rendell's energy independence package -- including
measures designed to spur conservation and the use and
production of alternative fuels.
That package stalled last spring over philosophical
disagreements. This year, it is being widely touted as ripe
for bipartisan agreement.
On the other hand, Pennsylvania is also seeing a push for
new investment in fossil fuels -- from the rush to drill for
deep-seated natural gas deposits to the quest for government
subsidies to support efforts to make coal burn more cleanly.
This year, truck drivers demonstrating in Harrisburg urged
elected officials to reduce, suspend or eliminate the
state's 38.1-cents-a-gallon tax on diesel fuel, among
the highest in the nation.
That proposal, which gained little leverage this year with
the Rendell administration or legislative leaders, is
opposed by most environmental advocates. They see it as a
policy move that continues an addiction to fossil fuels.
In recent years, new voices have been raised for protecting
the environment, including prominent preachers such as Rick
Warren, author of "The Purpose-Driven Life."
The Rev. John Stoeckle at First Alliance Church in
Susquehanna Twp., who gave a "creation care"
sermon recently, reported that some responses from the
congregation were skeptical, but most were positive.
"I'd like to see us have a coherent national
energy policy that would coordinate with environmental
policy," he said.
David Black , president and CEO of the Harrisburg Regional
Chamber, said he sees more environmental awareness in the
midstate in recent years, "but we're a pragmatic
part of the country," and support for careful expansion
of oil drilling is probably fairly high here.
MARY WARNER: 255-8267 or mwarner@patriot-news.com
CHARLES THOMPSON: 705-5724 or cthompson@patriot-news.com
