Maryland like much of the rest of the United States experiences low temperatures this time of year. Weather forecasters in the Old Line State are discussing the possibility of snow and ice in the coming days. However, as low as temperatures sometimes get in 49 of the 50 United States, winters in much of Europe are at times colder still. Nonetheless, much of that continent is in the cold tonight; Europe is in the midst of an energy crisis. As worries once again foment regarding Russian gas disruptions, however, a blast today at a Canadian natural gas facility was a smaller energy concern in North America.

The Canadian incident is a smaller concern because of the scope of the ongoing crisis in Europe. Many of the oil pipelines serving Europe pass through Ukraine and other portions of the former Soviet Union. The current diplomatic row between Russia and Ukraine may have been the spark for this crisis, but a number of other countries are adversely affected by it. At the moment, the European Union sees no danger to its present gas supply, but that could change.

Nonetheless, the fundamental problem is deeper than disputes among politicians and oil firms in Eastern Europe. A good point was raised in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece about the need to diversify supply. A comprehensive approach to assuring energy supply to contemporary societies is valuable and important, but so is the utilization of present technology and supply options. Expanding opportunities to explore and drill for oil off of the coasts of the United States is as much a foreign policy issue as a domestic one. Domestically, further oil exploration would create jobs, and generate revenue for cash-strapped state governments. With regard to foreign policy, however, dependency on potentially hostile authoritarian or otherwise problematic regimes in the Middle East and along the equator will only lead to problems for U.S. society in the years to come. Finding and generating alternative energy resources should be encouraged, but so should finding and using alternative sources of oil and gas resources.

Last 5 posts by James Kane

• A November to Remember - November 8th, 2010
• On hope and fear - October 18th, 2010
• Expecting Different Results - September 12th, 2010
• A glaring omission on Iraq - August 31st, 2010
• Employing a losing strategy - August 7th, 2010