Want to cut down on oil imports? It's really not that difficult....

[Pab Sungenis]

...just add this clause to all future oil drilling leases and permits issued by the Interior Department.

"The oil, gas, and other commodities produced as a result of this lease/permit, may only be refined and/or sold within the confines of the United States, and may not be exported."

[Wilms]

1. But that might complicate "Big Oil's" ability to avoid paying taxes.

:shrug:

[ThomCat]

7. Yup. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

:D

[Marblehead]

2. Get big oil

and big business out of the government. That won't happen until the citizens take action.

[grahamhgreen]

3. I love it, and a lot of Repubs would go with it.

[polichick]

4. There's no U.S. oil market - Rachel explains it here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0--Q9_KmAY

[Pab Sungenis]

5. And that's the problem.

If we're going to produce oil here then let's sell it here. If we're barred from reimporting prescription drugs, we should be barred from reimporting petroleum.

Refine it here. Sell it here. Keep it here.

[polichick]

6. It's not going to happen for a lot of reasons, so citizens need to call the prez...

...and other politicians on the bullshit - we are endangering the Gulf and other areas for extra profits (and extra political donations).

[ThomCat]

8. Right. Any oil, from anywhere, goes to the big oil companies, and

the international oil market.

It doesn't matter where it comes from. It doesn't matter where they drill it from. They're not going to sell it in some special "American-Only" market. All markets are international at this point.

So the ONLY way to really get "Energy Independence" is to STOP USING OIL.

So we need to stop giving the oil industry billions of dollars every year in unnecessary tax subsidies and give all of that money instead to Solar and Wind and Geo-Thermal Energy companies.

When we start getting All of our Energy from Solar and Wind and Geothermal in environmentally safe, non-toxic ways, then we will finally have achieved real energy independence.

Unfortunately, we are only paying lip-service to that goal, giving a paltry few million dollars per year to green energy. Barely enough to keep the idea alive in business incubators, but not enough to actually develop or roll-out anything as a serous industry that could ever challenge oil. And that's exactly the way the oil companies want it.

[polichick]

9. So true - and the president knows it, but continues the con anyway...

...when he could be educating the people, as Rachel does.