Battle Over Foreign Oil Spreads To Queens

www.zwire.com by Paul Menchaca, Western Queens Editor January 23, 2003

The threat of a war with Iraq has many Americans worried about what it could do to oil prices. Regular unleaded gasoline at this Whitestone Mobil station is nearly $1.60 per gallon, which is average for New York City. (photos by Anthony Correia   In a controversial television advertising campaign paid for by the non-profit group Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars, a link is made between driving a sport utility vehicle and supporting terrorism, with the tagline “What Is Your SUV Doing to National Security?”

   The idea is that the gas-guzzling vehicles are supporting terrorism through their over- abundant use of oil that comes from the Middle East. In one spot, a group of SUV drivers make casual admissions such as, “I helped hijack an airplane,” “I helped our enemies develop weapons of mass destruction” and “I helped teach kids around the world to hate Americans.”

   The campaign is a response, and also a parody, of a similar advertising campaign from the Bush Administration that linked buying drugs to supporting terrorism. Both campaigns have drawn criticism for selling misconceptions, and some stations, including WABC in New York, have refused to air the advertisements from Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars.

   America’s reliance on oil from the Middle East has resonated as a topic of great discussion in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. As the country teeters on the edge of a war with Iraq, the issue continues to be the source of analysis and controversy for Americans.

   The issue of foreign oil is not a debate over whether or not the United States should rely so heavily on the supply in the Middle East. The political instability in that region, and the ongoing tension with Iraq, assures almost unanimous support to diminish a reliance on this region’s oil output.

   But two issues have generated intense scrutiny: Finding an alternative energy source and taking steps to combat a potential oil price hike in the event of a war with Iraq.

   For Queens residents, the risk of an oil crisis looms large. This is a commuters’ borough where—more so than in Manhattan—people rely on a car to get themselves from point A to point B. An oil price increase would also make it costlier to heat our homes.    Many analysts have discounted the possibility of a massive oil crisis if the United States goes to war with Iraq. Others think back 30 years ago when an oil embargo triggered a major international shortage, sparking a global recession that they believe can happen again.         Fueling The Fear    Experts studying the potential fallout from a U.S.-led attack on a country from which it imports oil, invariably bring up the energy crisis of 1973, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, placed an embargo on its shipment of crude oil to Western countries, particularly the United States and the Netherlands.

   Global oil prices rose to four times the level they were before the embargo, and the result was a recession and economic slump that matched the impact of the Great Depression for much of the world. In the United States, people were only able to fill up their cars with gas on alternate days based on whether their license plates ended in odd or even numbers. Lines for gas stations stretched for blocks in some areas.

   The energy crisis made many Americans aware for the first time of just how dependent the United States is on the Arab world for its crude oil supply. Thirty years later, renewed fears have again risen to the surface.

   After the energy crisis, automakers responded by making a move toward building smaller, more efficient cars, foregoing the large automobiles that had been built up to that point. However, as the crisis became a distant memory, and oil prices dropped and stabilized, large vehicles reappeared on the market.

   Congressman Anthony Weiner, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Queens, believes the obsession with big cars by many Americans points to a contradiction on the oil issue that exists in this country.

   “We, as a country, have always been schizophrenic on this issue,” he said. “We’re a country that is protective of the environment and concerned about oil prices, and at the same point we’re addicted to big cars.”

   He is also troubled by what he believes is the lack of a clear approach to energy by the United States.

   “The energy policy has been inconsistent to say the least,” he said. “It’s not only the Bush administration, but previous administrations as well. We have to find a way to reduce consumption. We cannot continue to be on the path that we’re on.”

   Weiner wants to see the government ask the American people to make sacrifices in order to help cut down the consumption of foreign oil.

   “Our leaders don’t ask us to sacrifice enough,” Weiner said. “During World War II, Americans were asked to conserve scrap metal and rubber, and it wasn’t because there was necessarily a shortage on these items, but there was a sense that we had to bring the country together. If you drive a car or buy a plane ticket, you are part of the (energy) conflict. We are not doing enough to improve fuel efficiency in our cars.”

   Some analysts doubt that there will be a crippling energy crisis that mirrors the one in 1973. For one, many believe that an invasion of Iraq would be swift, making any kind of disruption in oil exportation a minimal one.

   Furthermore, not everyone is convinced that Iraq is as important to oil production as it once was. Although Iraq has the second-largest known oil reserves—an estimated 112 billion barrels of crude oil, which is below the estimated 264 billion amassed by Saudi Arabia—its output accounts for only about 3 percent of the world’s supply.

   Experts point to other markets in the world—especially Russia, which is second to Saudi Arabia in oil production—where the United States can turn to for a new supply, weakening any threats from Baghdad of a potential oil embargo.

   However, for some Queens residents, the possibility of a severe oil price hike is a legitimate concern, especially because they are already feeling the effects of higher bills.

   “I think the prices are getting too high and I don’t think it’s right, especially for people on a fixed income,” said a 66-year-old Middle Village resident who gave her name only as Jessica. “(The home heating bill) has gone up quite a bit already, and when you are on a fixed income, you have to make things stretch. I also feel sorry for the young people too, because with these bills, combined with the high property prices, they can’t even afford to buy a house, and that’s not fair.”

   A Rego Park woman, who asked that her name not be used, said that the cold winter this year in New York has taken its toll on her heating bill as well.

   “It’s gone up quite a bit,” she said. “The last bill I got (in January) went up $300 from the previous month’s.”

   A recent report by Oil Price Information Service, a New Jersey-based publisher of petroleum data, indicated that heating oil has risen by 20 percent in New York, while gasoline prices have seen a 30 percent jump. The report further noted that while heating oil prices are expected to stabilize, gasoline prices are expected to see a hike by this spring.

   Although many oil experts believe a war with Iraq would only result in a temporary oil price hike, United States Senator Charles Schumer from New York believes that an invasion opens the possibility for long-term problems.

   “If a potential war goes bad and no additional oil reaches the market, even conservative estimates say gas prices would not just hit the roof, but shatter it,” he said.         Searching For Solutions    If gasoline prices do “shatter” the roof, what can Queens drivers do to cope? One solution could be to carpool.

   The College Point-based non-profit alternative transportation organization, CommuterLink, offers drivers the opportunity to meet other commuters who work and live in the same areas in order to form a carpool. The 13-year-old company also offers mass transit commuting itineraries to best reach a destination, trip reduction strategies and parking management programs.

   Although the company offers services to all five boroughs, Jennifer Covello, marketing manager for CommuterLink, noted that the majority of the clients are Queens residents. A person looking to enter a carpool will fill out an application and the company will use a specialized matching service to find other commuters with similar work schedules and destinations.

   “We find that people who carpool, like it,” she said. “If the person they are carpooling with pulls out of the program, we find that a majority of them will come to us looking for someone else.”

   Covello also indicated that a lot of the clients get involved with the carpool service in order to save money.

   “They want to save money because gas prices are so high,” she said. “Even if you do it two to three times a week, you are cutting your gas payments in half.”

   CommuterLink was started as part of the 1990 Clean Air Act. The company states its goal promoting and encouraging “ridesharing and other modes of alternative transportation, thereby reducing congestion and improving air quality and mobility.”

   Finding long-term energy solutions for the United States is more complicated. Chris McCannell, Congressman Joseph Crowley’s chief of staff, does not believe the government is investing enough money in alternative energy sources in order to make them cost efficient.

   He also believes that the Bush Administration should look more closely at other regions from which to import oil. Although the flow of crude oil from Venezuela has been disrupted because of political turmoil, McCannell believes the region—which is responsible for the fourth largest oil exportation to the United States—should be considered for a new supply source.

   “We don’t think the administration is exploring (other areas) as soundly as they should be with such a focus on the war on Iraq. We are not going to be able to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but it is about being a little smarter about it.”