Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: A lesson from OPEC

Thursday, March 23, 2000 | 9:47 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

Here we go again. The environmentalists are still talking about alternative energy sources such as solar and wind. So what's new? The political leaders appear to be listening again as they have during past Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries-created oil crises. Of course, the politicians will cease listening the minute the $30 a barrel of crude oil drops back to $25 or less.

National politicians play with energy problems the same way Northern Nevada officials react to droughts. When there is a serious water shortage the northerners go so far as giving serious thought to putting water meters on all homes in the Reno-Sparks area. The day after the first heavy rainfall comes over the mountains all of this water-saving thinking is forgotten.

During the mid-1970s, OPEC shut down almost all oil exports, and it created havoc here in the United States. Twice, as Nevada governor, I was called back to Washington by President Richard Nixon to meet with him and acting energy czar Bill Simon.

Here at home, because of the importance of tourism, my energy czar, Noel Clark, was developing ways to meet the crisis. Bob Goodman and Daryl Monahan, state tourism and economic development leaders, drove small and large cars from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and from Reno to San Francisco to show that either trip could be completed with a tank full of gas. We told Californians that they could be assured of a full tank of gas to make it back home. We kept that promise because Bill Simon made certain extra fuel from Salt Lake City and Phoenix came to Nevada.

During that same period of time it was easy to get energy-saving legislation through Congress and the legislature of every state. A state speed limit and the development of Nevada's solar energy sources and studies were passed in Carson City. It did take an act of Congress to get state legislation to pass a speed limit in a state where none had existed on our open highways.

During the first OPEC-created crisis the big oil companies used every means known to get around environmental laws to drill in pristine areas. There were enough desperate people and more than enough greedy oil barons to drill on the front lawn of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. if they thought oil lay beneath the grass.

Today there is immediate talk about now allowing oil drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This is a program Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, has been pushing for years and not something patriotic on his part. Murkowski and the entire Alaska delegation loves Big Oil and the wealth it brings to their state.

By the way, don't for a minute believe that all of the oil now being produced in Alaska is helping you or me. No, daily 60,000 barrels of Alaska crude oil are being exported to Asia. For 22 years there was a ban on exporting Alaska oil. It was removed five years ago when Murkowski, as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, pushed it out of committee with a 14-4 vote.

Sen. Mark Hatfield, R-Ore., argued that we were already overly dependent on foreign oil. In 1994 more than 50 percent of our oil was being imported as compared to only 36 percent in 1973 when the export ban on domestic oil was imposed. This made no impression on Murkowski, who wanted the higher Asian prices for the oil companies pumping from Alaska's turf.

Before any further thought is given to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the 60,000 barrels now going daily to Asia should be directed to our West Coast refineries along with the 900,000 barrels already coming south from Alaska.

Next week the OPEC nations will be meeting to determine how much they will increase the flow of oil. I'm not sure that they will be doing us any favors if they fully open the spigot and encourage the cost of crude oil to drop back to $10 a barrel it cost last year. Sooner or later we are going to have to face up to our energy uses and demands in a realistic manner. Cheap oil only encourages us to continue and even increase our bad habits formed during decades of cheap energy.

Now let's do more than talk about developing alternative energy sources before the price starts to decline slightly in late summer. In the meantime, don't plan on gasoline prices going back down to what it was a year ago. Saudi Arabia, Iran and other oil-producing countries, along with Big Oil, are enjoying their increased wealth and power.