An Open Letter to Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe

June 29, 2009

Dear Senators Snowe and Collins:

Last night, I listened to a radio interview with T. Boone Pickens. In this interview, he detailed his solutions to America's increasing dependancy on foreign oil. He has spent $60,000,000 of his own money to inform the public about the problem and his ideas for a solution. As I'm sure you know, we consume 25% of the world's oil, most of which is imported from people who don't like us, and we are only 4% of the world's population. This country has known for nearly 50 years that this time was coming and yet no one, Democrat or Republican, has come up with a plan to decrease our consumption and develop our own resources.

Mr. Pickens offered one point that made my blood run cold. He stated that China has already made oil deals with Venezuela, Brazil, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and is now in talks with the government of Kuwait. In a very short time, we will be at the mercy of our enemies and we could find ourselves paralyzed on their whim. If we go to war over this (God forbid) all of our oil will go to the military and we will be helpless. Our economy will certainly collapse and vital food and supplies will no longer be shipped across country because of the prohibitive cost of truck transport. Even if this event doesn't happen, at the very least oil could be $300. per barrel within 10 years. This is only one point that Mr. Pickens expanded upon and the others were not comforting to ponder, either.

I am very angry that this government seems to spend it's time whining over what might have been instead of trying to get to work and keep this country from disintegrating in our lifetimes. Congress must have figured out by now that invading any random country in the middle east is not the solution. What is so difficult about funding alternative energy plans? Why not support giant wind farms in our Western plains? Why not start making cars that use natural gas? Wouldn't that boost these dying auto companies? Wouldn't that produce jobs? Wouldn't that revitalize cities and towns that are nearly deserted at this point? How about a few nuclear energy plants? For heaven's sake, we are the country who came up with the idea in the first place and we don't even use it! That is just plain lazy. Europe is laughing at our stupidity and lack of motivation to save ourselves from a certain fate.

Please don't allow this to happen to our country. I would ask that the US once again becomes the world leader in innovation and invention and gain the respect of our tired citizens who are sick of hearing nothing but hate, fearmongering, and conspiracy theories spewing from unqualified talking heads on TV and radio, who are nothing but gasbags who have figured out how to make millions out of promoting extremism. Don't let them take over YOUR job of representing those of us who have elected you and live the everyday life of American citizens. I don't want to spend my old age burning my furniture to keep warm while our "enemy du jour" controls the trickle of oil.

I do hope you will take this seriously and support Mr. Picken's programs. He is the only person who seems to have a committed interest and a viable solution to this soon-to-be catastrophic problem.

Thank you very much for your attention to this issue.

Sea Rose