Sheer coincidence that the new administration is a very dear friend of the big oil companies, which have been itching to get into heretofore off-limits terrain because there's black gold in them thar hills. Sheer coincidence that both the president and his supremely influential vice president owe many of their millions to the oil industry and presumably remain friends in need. Maybe this energy crunch would have occurred no matter who had won the White House or what their histories were. They want to drill in coastal waters and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where the oil companies are champing at the bit. Secondly, the administration is pushing increased production as an economic boon.
Poor communities are particularly vulnerable.
They are often so hungry for jobs and income that they welcome big, belching refineries to the neighborhood, only to suffer considerable health and environmental hazards. Look, for example, to the stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, where refineries have lined the waterfront. There is no question that energy is a precious commodity and that our society would be drastically changed and damaged without it. But there is more to consider here than cheap gasoline and new jobs. We shouldn't rush into anything.