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GUESTI EDlTORlAL
Americans should get their
heads out of the clouds
IV MI C. mum l PRES. ASSOC. 0t WA BUSINESS
Americans live in an idealistic world
where, no matter what happens, we'll still
be able to go home at night and switch on
the lights or pull into a filling station and gas
up thefamilySUV.
Most folks —— including many elected of-
ficials—don‘t connect the dots. They some-
how believe there are no consequences to
ldllingasmallbiomass project inVancouver,
stoppingawindfanndevelopmentbecause
it spoils their View, taking a coal-fired plant
011’ line, or opposing a natural gas or electric
transmission line. r
There's a smug attitude that we’ve always
had all the energywe need, so we always
‘ wilLWell, it ain’t. so!
For example, the new president of the
Organization ofPetroleum Exporting Coun-
tries (OPEC) is a senior commander oflran’s
Revolutionary Guards.
Rostam Ghasemi, head of the Khatam
al-Anbia and industrial base, was
appointed Iran’s oil minister by President
MahmoudAhmadinejad. That automatical-
ly makes him the new head of OPEC, which
has a crucial role in setting world crude
oil prices. Ghasemi is currently subject to
sanctions by the United States, European
Union and Australia, and his assets have
been blacklisted by the US. Treasury and
other western powers.
OPEC is made up of a dozen oil-exporting
nations, many of which aren’t friendly to
America. BetweenAlgeria, Angola, Ecuador,
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,
andme OPFCntemberscollectively
hold 79 percent of the world’s crude oil re-
serves and 44 percent of the world’s crude
oil production, affording them considerable
control over the global market.
Why should we care?
Americastilloonsumes nearlyaquarterof
the world's oil production, yet has just over
one percent of the total proven oil reserves.
So our nation is dependent upon others
for oil, and whetlierwe like it or not, we still
use petroleum for fuel and millions of other
,
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Editorial Policy
The editorial philosophy of the Lake Ste
vens journal is to provide informative and
' entertainingvstories ab0ut the people, events
and issues of our community.
The journal reserves the right toredil all
submitted material, whether news or edito-
> rial, for content, grammar, taste, style or
. length to beSt serve the paper and the com-
munity. Submitted items are published at
the journal’s discretion and reflect solely the
' opinion otthe anthor and are not necessar-
ily the opinion of the journal or its stall. /
Letters to the editor aregwelcomed and
must be less than 300 words. include a
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number lor verification. Published letters will
include the letter-writer’s name and city of
residence. Anonymous letters‘and letters to
' third parties are not accepted.
No advertisements, columns, letters to the
editor or other information will be published
that contain discrimination based on sex,
color, creed, race, religion, national origin,
age, sexual preference; or which are simply
in bad taste.
Member-of the Washington
Your hometown newspaper slnco 1960
v Distribution Manager/lorry Rolt
products we use every day in our hospitals,
schoOls, factories and homes.
President Obama and other elected of-
ficials need to get their heads out of the
clouds, look around to see who our friends
are and act accordingly.
Case in point: Canada has been our best
friend and ally for hundreds of years. We’ve
fought wars together, and our citizens are
joined at the hip. Our economies are inter-
connected, and we cooperate daily on any
number of issues.
Canada is second to Saudi Arabia in
proven oil reserves, but most of it is housed
in the oil sands of northern Alberta. While
some of the oil is mined, the majority of it
will be extracted through pumping steam
into deep wells and bringing the oil to the
surface for refining.
The Canadians have extensive invest-
ments in environmental improvements,
including water reclamation and conserva-
tion, and the Canadian government has ad-
opted extensive pollution and greenhouse
gas reduction programs.
Yet, alternative energy activists want to
stop, oil sand development. But the fact is,
even with energy conservation, increasing
reliance on electric cars and hybrids and
switching to natural gas—powered vehicles,
America’s demand for oil will continue to
grow. So will that of China and other devel-
oping nations.
We will continue to need oil for the fore-
seeable future. The only question is where
we’ll get it.
Elected oflicials need to come to grips
with the fact that byhalting development of
our proven oil reserves, delaying and killing
energy projects, and snubbing our nose at
Canadian suppliers, we will be placing our
energy future and national security in the
hands of OPEC and the head of Iran’s Revo-
lutionary Guard. ,
Ironically, by controlling the energy that
fuels our nation’s economy, our enemies
could bring the United States to its knees
without firing a shot
We had better get our heads out of the
clauds, come down to earth and face reath
before it's too late.
Contact Us
The Lake Stevens journal
PO Box 896
Lake Stevens, WA 98258
4253 34-9252 Fax 425-3 34-9239 '
wwwlakestgvengournalgom
President and Publisher Desiree Cahoon
Co-Publisher Pam Stevens
News: Deadline Thursday at pm.
e—moil news@lol<esteven5Journal.com
Managing Editor Pam Stevens
Nina Lawrence
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email ads@lokeslevenSJournal.com '
Art Director/Graphics Shane Kontzer
Graphic Designer Kelcey Hatch
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Distributed every Wednesday via US Mail to the greater
lake Stevens and Granite Falls communities.
Subscriptions: Within Snohomish County: $47 year,
$A2/ senior citizens. Outside Snohomish County:
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Lake Stevens Journal August 24, 2011
YOURl LETTERS
lhankyou from the Kiwanis Club for Aquafest volunteers?
Dear Editor,
The Lake Stevens Kiwanis Club would
like to thank the volunteers who gave
their time to make this Aquafest event a
great success. We couldn't do this with-
out you.
Thank you to the community of Lake
Stevens for their continuing support. Our
Thursday night LSHS Alumni Night gets V
better each year and we hope to see more
graduates next year. Thank you to LSHS
Purple and Gold Club fontheir dedication
to this annual get together.
All proceeds from this event go back
into the community in the form of
scholarships, Christmas and Thanksgiv-
ing baskets, support for athletic teams,
Scouts, Food Bank, Senior Center, Boys
and Girls Club, Easter Egg Hunt, school
supplies and other needs as they arise.
' Thanks again for your support and
help, see you next year.
Lake Stevens Kiwanis Club
lSHS grad thanks community for support in education
Dear Editor,
Kelly Bay (LSHS ’01) graduated with
distinction from the University ofVirginia
in 2005 with her BA. in Foreign Affairs.
After studying sustainable development
in Central America, she decided to com-
bine her passion for politics and teaching
by pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Science at
Brown University in Providence, Rhode
Island in 2005. She earned her MA in"
Political Science from Brown in 2006 and
her Ph.D. in Political Science from Brown
in May 201 1.
Her doctoral dissertation entitled,
“Does Participatory Governance De-
liver? Citizen Participation and Social
Service Delivery in Nicaragua,” uses
original ethnographic data that Kelly col-
lected over ten months of independent
fieldwork in rural Nicaragua to analyze .
the effectiveness of two policies—one
intended to improve parent participa-
tion in elementary schools and another
that created neighborhood development
councils to distribute goods and services. ..
to low—income families.
As a graduate student, Kelly presented
her work at several regional, national
and international conferences. She also
taught her own undergraduate course in
Brown’s Education Department, entitled
Politics and Public Education. Kelly now
serves as a college professor in the Insti—
tute of Public Service at Seattle University V
D US YOUR LETT?
. news@lakestevensjournal.corn‘ I
Stevens Journal, P.O.Box 896, Lake Stevens
CREMATION
$795
Peoples Memorial Members Welcome
a tourism
Locally owned if: operated
‘ r
GLEN JOHNSON
PET. THIS WEEK
g Noah'Animal Adoption Center .
360-529-7055 '
where she teaches Foundations of Public .1
Administration and Policy and Program
Research inthe Masters of Public Admin-
istration program.
Kelly and her family would like to ex-
press their gratitude to the Lake Stevens
Community for their supportover the
years that afforded Kelly such remarkable
educational opportunities. In addition
. to her teachers and coaches, Kelly would
like to thank the following people and
organizations for their generous college
scholarships: '
-Iill RenshawHuman ServicesAca‘demic .
Scholarship
- Lafayette Masonic Lodge Scholarsz
- Lake Stevens Educational Association
Scholarship
-Lake Stevens High School Scholarship
-Lake Stevens Rotary Club Scholarship
0 lake Stevens Lions Club Scholarship
- Mike Heath Memorial Scholarship
Viking Drive-In Work-Study Scholarship
Thankyou for 3'th-
ment to the students of Lake Stevens.
The support and encouragement from
each of your organizations truly make a
difference. ‘
I hope to make it count and pass it on!
Cathy L. Grotjahn
Shoreline
. 1 360-658-1921
Marysville
1 1 State Avenue
. 31300 .Brandstrom Rd Stanwood
Brooke
Female, 11 pounds
6 Yam old
Domestic Shorthalr Tabby
1 Brooke is such'a sweet girl as long as you don't sneak up on her.
She is a little unsure of
quick movements so she can get scared really quickly. She is not a big fan
of other dogs and
cats so a nice quiet home that she can curl up with you while watching TV
would be best.
Pet of the week sponsored by
FOR ALL your: PET’S NEEDS
Snohomish Station
Snohomish
425-322-4012
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