Use oil reserve to blunt energy crisis

There have been a number of proposals floated recently to relieve the burden of energy prices.

There is one proposal however that deserves some consideration and debate. The strategic petroleum reserve of 700 million barrels exists to deal with interruptions in world oil supplies.

At current market prices ($138 a barrel) the SPR holds over $97 billion worth of oil. That's $97 billion of our taxpayer money.

The growing energy crisis is caused by an ever-increasing demand for oil on the world market but the current pricing crisis is caused by a speculative demand.

Speculation has driven up the price of oil futures in the marketplace and like any bubble, we are all waiting for it to burst.

Meanwhile, our people and economy are suffering.

Many people will never recover from the long-term affects of this economic crisis.

The value of our dollar continues to decline on world markets and the national debt continues to climb.

Each time we fill our tank, we send increasing economic value out of the country.

This cannot continue forever and an economic collapse would be the worst trigger for bursting the energy bubble.

From time to time, the Energy Department releases small amounts of oil from the reserve to address temporary supply interruptions.

We know it can be used and we know it can be replenished. Recognizing this fact, there should be no fear in utilizing this resource to benefit our economy now.

We have the opportunity to use our resources for the benefit of our country in a time of crisis.

The impact of reducing US demand on world energy markets, even 20 percent for a temporary period may well be the incentive needed to burst the speculative bubble and move energy costs back to a realistic pattern.

This temporary action by our Energy department will not end the energy crisis.

That work by our government must continue, but the immediate damage to our economy may be averted if we act now.

Peter Krempely

Indianapolis, Ind.