Good to the Last Drop? Sacrificing the Wild West for Oil

During the remainder of May and into June, the Mainstream Media Project is scheduling interviews for guests to talk about the increase in oil drilling in the wild lands of the great American West.

Gas prices have once again hit a record high across the nation and oil profits for large corporations are also hitting record highs. In the past 6 years, the top five oil companies' profits have been about $440 BILLION dollars! Is there concrete evidence of price gouging? Why isn't the federal government regulating the oil industry?

Higher gas prices have put the pressure on many federal groups, including the Bureau of Land Management, to permit drilling in some of our wildest natural places to accommodate what is being considered "demand" for oil. Oil drilling is a major disruption to wildlife habitat and has been known to cause pollution in groundwater. Oil drilling requires miles and miles of roads and pipelines through natural areas.

Will our dependency on and addiction to oil ever subside? What alternatives are available? Are they viable? Is it worth the environmental sacrifice to drill for oil on our wild lands? Is this just a short-term delay in addressing the real problem, the end of oil?