Peter and The Price of Oil

My pal Peter Maass has a great essay in today's New York Times Magazine about the cost of oil. In it he argues that the domestic environmental movement does us a disservice by keeping our own country so very free from the despoliation associated with oil extraction.



The argument is similar to one I make about why I like seeing the homeless in Manhattan. I want the noisy rich constituents of the upper east side to have to step over a homeless person on the way to Wall Street. Sure, it's a frank reminder of the income disparity of this country, but it's also a good way to insure that homelessness actually gets some attention. Shove the problem into the Bronx or to Riker's and you can be sure it'll sink to the bottom of any resource allocation discussion.

Or as Peter so succinctly put it: "Perhaps a few more drilling platforms in our most precious lands and waters would make us understand that the true cost of oil is not posted at the gas pump."