More Drilling for Oil in the US

Yesterday morning, President Bush urged Congress to overturn the ban on offshore oil drilling and open up ANWR citing that these moves would "take pressure off gas prices over time by expanding the amount of American-made oil and gasoline." Following in the unpopular leader's footsteps, McCain made a 180 and put out a similar message. Both are stroking the fears of the American public in this time of $4 gasoline and a sagging economy. What is truly frightening is that polls show that many of our fine citizens believe that these moves will actually lower the price of gas.

Obama, who was against the silly notion of a gasoline tax break this summer, is also against these proposals and with good reason. According to Time magazine and many other reputable sources including the government's own Energy Information Administration,

Even if tomorrow we opened up every square mile of the outer Continental Shelf to offshore rigs, even if we drilled the entire state of Alaska and pulled new refineries out of thin air, the impact on gas prices would be minimal and delayed at best. A 2004 study by the government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) found that drilling in ANWR would trim the price of gas by 3.5 cents a gallon by 2027. (If oil prices continue to skyrocket, the savings would be greater, but not by much.) Opening up offshore areas to oil exploration — currently all coastal areas save a section of the Gulf of Mexico are off-limits, thanks to a Congressional ban enacted in 1982 and supplemented by an executive order from the first President Bush — might cut the price of gas by 3 to 4 cents a gallon at most, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. And the relief at the pump, such as it is, wouldn't be immediate — it would take several years, at least, for the oil to begin to flow, which is time enough for increased demand from China, India and the rest of the world to outpace those relatively meager savings. "Right now the price of oil is set on the global market," says Kevin Lindemer, executive managing director of the energy markets group for the research firm Global Insight. President Bush's move "would not have an impact."

Read the full Time article at http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1815884,00.html. I am not an eco-terrorist and don't oppose the drilling of either area for oil if it would actually be productive but it has to be combined with sensible legislation that encourages conservation and promotes the development of renewable energy. Americans have to recognize the scare tactics employed by the GOP and actively promote policy that disposes of the tax breaks and subsidies given to oil companies making record profits. Let's get Big Oil out of our capitol and look to a future filled with renewable energy sources.