Letters to the Editor (July 28)

Better research needed

Editor:

The Crawfords’ letters makes me think they have a monetary interest in the petroleum industry.

Both letters praised the fossil fuel industry for making our lives wonderful. To say that the “radical” anti-fossil fuel crowd exaggerates the negative aspects of fossil-fuel, I would invite the Crawfords to do a little research on the NASA website.

It explains in easy to understand science how climate change is a major problem we must face. I would also like to point out fossil fuel is not renewable and the more we divest away from it now the more will be there for future generations, or perhaps the Crawfords are expecting our sun to supernova before we ever deplete out non-renewable fossil-fuel supply.

Seems a little greedy to want to continue to “drill-drill-drill” when we have very promising technologies to replace many uses of fossil fuel and save some so future generations can enjoy their high quality fossil fuel lives.

On the Chinese oil story, the Crawfords seem to think the oil released from the strategic reserve goes directly to the U.S. supply, but in actuality it is sold on the international market to help reduce global price increases. In an attempt to lower gas prices, the United States did release millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to be sold on the global market in June 2022.

Once this oil was “released,” it went up for auction for energy companies to purchase, and once the oil was purchased, it was shipped around the globe. Among several countries that received the shipments was China. But industry experts noted that this was not unusual; the United States often exports oil to China, or overseas in general.

Also, under federal laws, the government cannot dictate where oil gets shipped once companies purchase it. So while some oil was indeed shipped from the U.S. to China in 2022, this wasn’t directly decided by the Biden administration.

As for Hunter Biden’s connection to these rumors, the president’s son used to be a member of an equity firm that once purchased a stake in an oil company owned by the Chinese government. In 2022, that company, Sinopec, purchased oil from the above-mentioned U.S. oil reserve, via its American-based company, Unipec. However, Hunter was no longer a member of the equity firm at the time of that sale, and there was no evidence that Sinopec received oil via the strategic reserve for any other reason than it submitted one of the highest bids to pay for its barrels.

The Crawfords should do a little research before repeating lies being thrown out on the airwaves and social media by entertainment news shows and bloggers, it really hurts their credibility.

To recap: As global oil prices hit high levels in the summer of 2022, the United States released 30 million barrels of oil in an attempt to stabilize the market. This oil was purchased by 12 energy companies that shipped that oil to refineries in the United States and abroad.

While some people or groups claimed the Biden administration was “betraying” America by letting strategic reserve oil get shipped overseas, experts have repeatedly stressed “oil is a global commodity” and no matter whether oil is used abroad or domestically, it will have the same impact on market prices.

Furthermore, the claim that Hunter Biden used his political influence to secure a sale of U.S. oil to a Chinese-owned company was largely unfounded. No evidence has been provided to suggest that Unipec, a company connected to the Chinese government, was awarded its contract for oil from the SPR for any other reason than it met requirements to make the purchase.

Furthermore, while Biden was once a member of a private-equity fund that invested in Sinopec, the Chinese-branch of Unipec, Biden announced that he left that board position years before the oil sale in June 2022.

William Lumsden

Rio Communities

 

To the Valencia County Commissioners

Editor:

Gentlemen:

My wife and I recently made an informed decision to move to Bosque Farms, partly because it is a farming community — friendly to people and horses.

We are both retired. I as a roofing and waterproofing specialist consultant with a Bachelor of Science degree  in chemistry; and my wife, licensed to practice, with a doctorate in naturopathic medicine.

Although water quality, drilling for oil and gas, and hydraulic fracturing of oilbearing strata are not our specialties by any means, for years we have become aware of the often deleterious effects of the latter two efforts on aquifers and the quality of their water.

Often, even well-intentioned drillers who never intend to do damage to aquifers, either accidentally or on purpose because of fracking that goes awry or spillage, in the long run, damage to groundwater and an aquifer is often the result.

That this commission is not aware of such deleterious possibilities is unlikely, and begs the question: Is there a quid pro quo in play, one that will benefit a few to the detriment of many, if a change in the way the land-use governing rules are implemented, such that unwanted oil and gas drilling are allowed?

Allowing oil or gas drilling anywhere in Valencia County poses the distinct risk of compromising the security of the aquifer that serves thousands of people.

Although it is unlikely tonight that your vote on this topic will change what you attempted to advance in an improperly-noticed meeting a few weeks ago, know that thousands of knowledgeable and concerned citizens who drink the water of the aquifer in question are solidly in opposition to your attempt to change the perfectly satisfactory way that land-use in Valencia county is safely managed.

I recommend that you take heed of the voices of the people here assembled and those watching within the county, and vote intelligently.

Gerald B. Curtis

Bosque Farms

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