The BP Thunder Horse platform, about 150 miles southeast of New Orleans. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle/Rapport Press/NEWSCOM)
Updated: U.S. public’s thirst for oil prodding Congress to act
With Bush urging new oil exploration in coastal waters, top lawmakers respond with calls to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor/ July 15, 2008 edition
Reporter Gail Russell Chaddock discusses several bipartisan plans for the problem of high gas prices.
Reporter Gail Russell Chaddock
Washington
Public anger over high gasoline prices is fueling new activity along bipartisan lines on Capitol Hill, especially over the need to lift a longstanding moratorium on new offshore oil drilling.
For weeks, a nearly united Republican caucus has been riding a crest in public opinion in favor of more exploration and drilling. Their slogan: Find more. Use less.
Acutely aware of the shift in public sentiment, Democrats are moving beyond their standard talking points about Big Oil – its billions in profits, its oilmen in the White House. They are now also posing this question: Why aren’t oil companies pumping from the 68 million acres of unused oil leases they already control? Their slogan: Use it or lose it.
The issue came to a sharp partisan point this week, as President Bush lifted an executive ban on offshore exploration on the outer continental shelf – and challenged Congress to lift its own ban.
“The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the USCongress,” he said Tuesday.
Top Democrats threw down their own gauntlets: “For eight years, he’s done nothing,” Senate majority leader Harry Reid said after the president’s news conference. “Rather than open offshore areas for drilling, Bush should tell oil companies to drill in the 6.8 million acres they already have [leased].”
On the House side, Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Mr. Bush to begin releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring down prices at the pump quickly. “Whether the president knows it or not, there is an emergency in our country,” she said at a news conference with energy experts on Tuesday.
But increasingly, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle acknowledge that their constituents will not accept partisan gridlock on this issue – and informal groups in the House and Senate are working to try to reach a consensus before Congress breaks for August recess.
Democrats are especially troubled by recent surveys signaling that the strains of higher gas prices are driving up Americans’ support for greater energy exploration, even at the expense of the environment. Almost three-quarters of American adults now strongly or mildly favor increased drilling for oil and natural gas in offshore waters, according to a CNN/Opinion Research poll conducted June 26-29.
“All members, regardless of which states they come from, recognize that we face an energy crisis of enormous concern to their constituents,” says Sen. Susan Collins (R) of Maine, who is meeting with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I) of Connecticut and other moderates to help frame bipartisan legislation on the issue.
On the House side, Reps. Neil Abercrombie (D) of Hawaii and John Peterson (R) of Pennsylvania launched a bipartisan House Energy Group on Monday.
“It is abundantly clear that the public is tired of the partisan rhetoric coming out of Washington. They want solutions,” the two lawmakers said in a joint statement. The group is proposing a comprehensive approach, including regulatory reform, investment in alternative energy technologies, conservation, and increased domestic production.
On the Senate side, another new bipartisan working group on energy – the Gang of 10 – aims to build on the success of an earlier group, the so-called Gang of 14, which broke a previous Senate gridlock over judicial nominations.
The group, organized by Sens. Kent Conrad (D) of North Dakota and Saxby Chambliss (R) of Georgia, is looking to forge a consensus about which restricted areas could win a majority of Senate votes for lifting a ban on exploration, focusing especially on easing restrictions in the Gulf of Mexico.
Senate Republicans, meanwhile, count 10 Democrats willing to consider opening restricted areas to more exploration.
“As of today, 10 Democrats have expressed some level of willingness to explore offshore. They’re acknowledging a groundswell of public opinion – even among self-described liberals – in favor of more domestic supply,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell in a statement on the Senate floor on Tuesday.
“We need to put partisanship aside and come up with an agenda that can get sufficient support to pass,” says Sen. Ben Nelson (D) of Nebraska, a member of both the energy working group and the Gang of 14. There’s bipartisan support to lift a drilling ban “under appropriate circumstances,” he says.
The Senate Energy Committee is inviting all 100 senators to a Thursday workshop on transportation and heating-fuel costs.
“I intend for the workshop to focus our attention not only on the challenges inherent in high oil prices, but also on developing a common path forward that we can come together to support,” said Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D) of New Mexico, who chairs the panel.
In a floor speech Wednesday, he set out priorities for moving toward a consensus: First, deal with speculation in the oil futures market. Second, encourage a reduction in US demand. “And then we should also look at supply,” he said.
“There are a lot of areas outside the moratoria that could be leased under current law…. If the administration knows a particular area that they believe has great promise and would like to … open to leasing that currently are not covered, I would be anxious to have them present the evidence and tell us what those are,” he said.
Before taking up the issue of increased domestic production, Senate Democrats plan to move legislation to rein in speculation in oil markets, which they assert has added 30 percent to the price of a barrel of oil. Republicans hope to offer amendments to end the ban on offshore exploration and drilling to that bill.
“Let me suggest to you that a bill that simply ratifies the status quo is not going to fool the American people nor be adequate for the Republican conference,” said the GOP’s Senator McConnell. A minimum “threshold of credibility” must include “opening up the outer continental shelf where states want to have it open, getting rid of the oil shale moratorium, incentivizing battery-driven cars, and an adequate study of the futures market to make sure that it’s functioning properly,” he said.
( More stories )
Comments
3. sadf | 07.15.08
“could have been using now”? I guess you are not too bright, it should say “would have used up by now.” Ya let’s destroy our country so fat people can drive SUVs, lol. oh and i did not read the terms of service so i can’t say i agree with them.
4. Margaret | 07.15.08
I sure hope you’re not refering to the “China drilling off the coast of Florida” hoax. That has been patently debunked. In addition, if the conservatives and liberals had paid attention 30 years ago when Carter told us we needed to conserve, find new sources of energy, free ourselves from foreign oil, we would not be in the position we find ourselves now. Within the next three years, Israel and Denmark will have all electric cars on the road, with only heavy equipment using petroleum. New drilling leases are not the answer, and you know it. That is a disingenuous argument. The only real solution is for Detroit to start competing with Japan on truly fuel efficient-non-petroleum driven vehicles, wind power to harness the “Saudi Arabia” we have in our plains states, and solar in our “sunbelt states”. Just like with the Manhattan Project, this requires forethought and discipline. It can be done, but it won’t if the GOP keeps trying to pull America away from the real solutions in order to continue to reward their Big Oil buddies.
5. Patrick | 07.15.08
yeah, Drill more Oil.. that is REALLY going to help wean us off of oil!
OIL IS THE PAST!! We need to stop polluting out land, our bodies, and our economies with this fuel that is on the decline world wide
Stop pumping money into oil development and pump it into renewable energy development!
GET AMERICA OFF OF OIL AND ONTO WIND, SOLAR, TIDAL, GEOTHERMAL, HYDRO ENERGY! RAISE THE FREAKING AUTOMOBILE EFFICIENCY RATE! Design better more efficient, lighter cars!!
GET OFF OF OIL! Its killing us, and we are sending 700 billion dollars overseas every year just for oil!
6. jaci | 07.15.08
Legalize HEMP to make bio diesel at least for the big trucks so that food and goods can be transported at reasonable prices. Millions of acres is the middle of this country could be used for growing HEMP. The jobs and industries that would be created are practically limitless. Hemp improves the soil and two crops a year can be grown. We could start tomorrow if Congress could get off it’s fat ***, and stopped being intentionally obtuse.
7. wakeupalready | 07.15.08
What will it take for the American public to get it? I hear mention of China’s energy policies but nothing of their pollution problems. I hear oxymorons like “Clean Coal” but nothing of the well-known environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels. And there’s much ado about nuclear energy and nothing of the very real issues of nuclear waste, public health, and public safety.
The real solution(s) to our oil addiction is to:
(1) Use energy more efficiently. We should demand that congress support increased funding for transit infrastructure that uses less energy per capita.
(2) Increase fuel efficiency standards. We say Americans are so smart, we’re the best right? Surely we can design vehicles that get better gas mileage. Enough of the excuses It can be done. All we need is the will to do it.
(3) Stop purchasing oil from countries that we know have threatened or attacked us (including Saudi Arabia).
If we are serious about energy independence we have to take drastic action. Trying to have our cake and eat it too is only going to dig us into a deeper hole.
Wake Up America. The time is NOW.
8. connie | 07.15.08
Drilling in Alaska won’t help us.
The problem is now, not years from now when they finally start pumping and refining the oil.
The oil will not be sold to Americans anyway, as the author implies it would. It will be sold to the highest bidders, China and India, and will only further fatten Big Petroleum.
We already have land leased, tested, and ready to drill, in places like Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Let’s use what we already have and not sell ourselves out to “developing economies”.
9. wfrontguy | 07.15.08
Amuricans, Wake Up….consume,consume and kill everything in site. Yup, Drill everything…..blow off the tops of mountains…..kill us all….But I want my piece of the pie……I live in WV and one day soon the oil and gas and coal will be gone and when they leave, I want at least a $100,000.00 exit pass so I don’t have to stay here in this polluted environment…..they will leave and I want out too!!!!
10. Kevin | 07.15.08
The democrats answer to the current crisis is short sighted. Drilling now gives relief years from now. We are in the current situation because we have not been drilling here for years. Current alternative energy vehicles are more than 10 years away from being viable alternatives. We cannot simply say drilling is not the answer when it will take decades to offer affordable alternatives. We are not far away from the same crisis with housing energy as we have stopped building powerplants with no immediate viable alternative. Protecting the planet is a noble goal but until alternatives are found we cannot give up on current energy sources and legislate the country into trading for imported energy. There is enough oil under ground here to fuel us for the next 100 years. We are only in the current crisis because of our own policies. In the future if cleaner and cheap alternatives are offered the government will not have to legislate to have the people make the choice. If the car companies can make an affordable vehicle that runs on hydro they will partner with a supplier to take the country by storm. One day it may happen but the time is not now. So drill here until we do not have to trade with the middle east for oil and we can give our money to Japan for automobiles.
11. David Harris | 07.15.08
Richard,
Will you please get off your high horse and tell these people that you are an exon executive and lobbyist whose bonus this year is dependent on getting congress to relax off shore drilling rules and oppening up ANWAR to new drilling leases? By the way, call mom, her birthday was last weekend and we didn’t hear from you.
Your brother, David
13. Guy Fawkes | 07.15.08
For the past 50 years, both ignorant, superstitious lemmings and the special interest of Big Oil and coal have opposed construction of nuclear power plants in the USA. France, which gets more than 85% of its electricity from nuclear power, is coping quite well with the current gouging by the oil companies, because France has electric powered trains to offset the rising oil costs for those who want to travel across the country - some of the fastest trains in the world. Meanwhile, the USA is stuck in the late 19th Century, with a power infrastructure highly dependent on oil and coal, with almost no reliable passenger rail transportation, and with a population clamoring for, but unable to buy, reliable electric cars.
Nothing will change until both the Administration and the Legislature stop taking money from lobbyists to maintain the status quo, and actually give the “go signal” to advance the national electric power infrastructure into the 21st Century. I only hope it happens while we still have the ability to build what we need to build.
14. Wes | 07.15.08
During WWII America call together some of the greatest minds and employed
many university’s to solve problems that seamed unresolvable at the time.
This project was called the Manhattan project.
We did solve those problems,and in record time.
Where are the people that think like that today.
Maybe it is time we take a good look at how long someone can serve in congress.
Most of the decisions made lately by congress would get you fired from almost any job today.
15. Kelly | 07.15.08
How about unplugging all the well haliburton pluged in the 70’s to help show a oil shortage. If the oil companies will Guarantee that all the oil from drilling will stay in this country and not be shipped out then let them drill but untill they will do that they just want more profit
16. joey | 07.15.08
congrats to richard harris for nailing all of the tired republican talking points.
he makes it sound like democrats are the only ones to blame, but if i recall, the gop had enormous control of congress from ‘96 to ‘06, along with control of the white house and they never tried to pass leg before.
but playing the blame game is a waste of time. what needs to be done now, instead of pointing fingers, is finding smart solutions that will wean us off of oil. drilling for more oil, in attempts to make it cheaper for us, will not do that.
drilling will not help us now. it will not help us for 22 years, according to president bush’s own administration.
also, i’d be a little more open to the idea of off shore drilling if the oil companies weren’t sitting on 68 million acres of land that they haven’t even explored.
one question for all of those who are screaming to drill oil. if we were to find oil tomorrow, what makes you think the oil companies will sell it to the united states at a cheaper rate than selling on the global market for $140 a barrel? in any debate about oil company profits, conservatives defend them by saying it is capitalism and supply and demand that dictates the price of oil. doesn’t sound like smart capitalism for the oil companies to sell their product at a cheaper rate than what they could get on the global market.
17. PSC | 07.15.08
I’m post 10 I think..
So far 7 of 9 people get it.
Don’t drill now for oil in the future. Invest now for other energy sources in the future. Including Nuclear.
But we don’t burn that much oil for energy. Wind, Solar, Nuclear etc will be great for our homes and busnesses, but doesn’t solve our agriculture (20+% of oil usage) problem.
Car effiencency is number one.
Possibly building more railroads as that is by far the cheapest transportation of goods.
18. Lorraine | 07.15.08
Richard Harris is what David Harris said true? Are you a lobbyist for the oil companies?
19. reason | 07.15.08
We need to drill NOW!!! We need nuclear power NOW!!!
The only reason gas is so high to day is because of rabid environmentalists. Not only are they the cause of the high price of oil but because of them we have been forced to use more oil than we would have if we had implemented nuclear power. Now globe is warming because of our incredible oil consumption, oil consumption that is much higher because of environmentalists.
The only positive thing the environmentalists have done is to force safe technologies to be developed that allow environmentally friendly drilling and nuclear plants. There is no reason to block drilling or nuke plants anymore.
Alternative technologies will take decades. They are working on them but it wont be soon enough. Throw the environmentalists in the river and lets get on with life.
20. JRD | 07.15.08
Congratulations on your new historic low, Congress! 9% is BELOW the lowest of ANY Congress OR president IN HISTORY.
So it’s absolutely perfect and logical when the lowest-rated president in history argues with the even LOWER-rated Congress in history - about oil drilling - which is doomed to help NO ONE….how much better can it get !?….these fools are on a life-and-death race to the BOTTOM.
And to make matters even MORE insane - we have a socialist liberal in denial and a wannabe “conservative” (fake republican) fighting for the presidency to follow up the current freak show….
…All the while, 12-20 million illegal aliens (the equivalent of 2-3 states’ populations) sitting around our country with impunity…..GOD - this is ALL the stuff of nightmares….and that’s not even gettin’ warmed up yet !
21. psmarc93 | 07.15.08
Bush’s department of energy information, the EID, reported this week that once new drilling is allowed, it will take 5 years for drilling to even begin (they have to find it and then build the rigs), 13 years for that oil to reach the market (and as it stands now the refineries are operating at full capacity so no more oil CAN be made), and so in 2036 when if finally reaches the market, the global econonmy will set the price so the actual savings from all this ruination of our coasts and fishing will produce “negligible results.” The only ones who benefit from giving our public land to the oil companies are the oil companies. We will not get more oil, cheaper oil, and we certainly won’t get it any time within the next decade.
By the way, as negative as this report seems, it was created to argue for drilling. Unfortuantely the facts seem to have a “liberal” bias.
22. Greg | 07.15.08
The biggest thing that drives me crazy is that they keep ANWR closed, and I live in Alaska and have had the opportunity to see it first hand, heck my brother in law works on the slope - all it mainly is is a mosquito harvest. I agree that we should take care of the planet, but I agree with Kevin that we need to start investing in both. Yes, find solutions that help the environment but don’t handcuff us and make us starve so that the caribou and mosquitoes have a nice home.
–
Greg
Wasilla, AK
23. Abarafi | 07.15.08
With few exceptions, Americans react instead of being preemptive, and think short term instead of long term. So, it’s no surprise that Bush et al are banging the drum of offshore drilling, again. Folks, eventually oil will run out. It is a finite resource. We can wait until its price becomes $50 per gallon, or we can start developing renewable alternatives now. No matter which path we take, it’s going to be a tough row to hoe for the next five to ten years. But digging for more oil only prolongs the problem. Finding a better alternative solves the problem.
25. seneca | 07.15.08
sadf says: “Ya let’s destroy our country so fat people can drive SUVs, lol.”
From rural guy: Hey, lets keep the food we grow in the heartland..in the heartland so city toads like sadf can go back to the dumpsters where he was born.
26. Brian | 07.15.08
What daydreamers like Patrick leave out of there argument is the obvious reality that OIL is not only the past but also the present. Each day when my neighbors and I come home on an 87 degree night we choose use air conditioning and refrigerate our food. When winter in Pennsylvania hit whiners like Patrick will be burning the fossil fuels to keep him and his from freezing. We choose to drive to work, fly to for business and leisure. The choices you offer are great! But there not in the present, they are also in the future as is drilling. Why can’t we do both? I’m all for clean, free alternatives.
Two things PAT, your caplock is on, and global warming is global BS!
27. Ethan Q | 07.15.08
Eat oil…yummo!!!
There is a good reason why we don’t drill off our coasts and it has more to do with food than oil. One major oil spill could wipe out fisheries and destroy needed supplies of food all along the food chain. One leak. There is no going back on an “oops” moment. Once the fish are dead, they’re dead.
For 8 long years we’ve been lead by the quackery that is the Bush Administration. Drilling for oil is a stupid choice. It only makes the oil companies richer, and Americans poorer.
More safe nuclear power, yes; more clean refineries, yes; drilling, no.
28. sittinginmexicowithcheapgas | 07.15.08
Let´s all wait a couple years and see how much Bush and Chaney increase their wealth due to investments in oil. That will be the true test and then investigate as I am sure the profits will make Exxon look stupid. They will try and hide the facts for years but the truth will be exposed, how long will we need to wait is the question.
29. Michael | 07.15.08
Well according to good old wiki…
“If the United States had to supply its entire demand of 21 million barrels per day (3.3×106 m3/d) without resorting to foreign imports, existing US reserves would last only three years at the current rate of consumption.”
Now that seems to me not to be much of a solution, and in my reading it is not as much a supply/demand issue, but an issue with speculators driving up the cost of oil futures.
again wiki…
In May 2008, hedge fund manager Michael Masters testified to a U.S. Senate committee about his belief that “What we are experiencing is a demand shock coming from a new category of participant in the commodities futures markets: Institutional Investors… In the popular press the explanation given most often for rising oil prices is the increased demand for oil from China. According to the DOE, annual Chinese demand for petroleum has increased over the last five years from 1.88 billion barrels to 2.8 billion barrels, an increase of 920 million barrels. Over the same five-year period, Index Speculatorsʼ demand for petroleum futures has increased by 848 million barrels. The increase in demand from Index Speculators is almost equal to the increase in demand from China!”
Just some facts to derail the conversation.
Every business person will tell you that it costs to much money to stop using Oil, but it seems to me with the rising prices, that it is costing us more and more to keep using it.
30. A Bit of Common Sense Please | 07.15.08
1. The outer continental shelf is est. to contain some 86 billion barrels of oil & 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas all of which are now off limits but could be developed now with very, very little environmental disturbance.
2. Offshore rigs are very far from shores; in fact, one cannot see them from land in the Gulf Coast area. These by the way had no oil spills during Hurricanes Katrina & Rita. Oil spills basically come from tankers importing oil, not drilling.
3. For drilling in the ANWR would entail the coastal plain, an area of about 2200 acres out of 19 million acres.
There are many more positives to drilling offshore on the east and west coasts and in ANWR. This should have been done years ago. For those who say this will take years to reap the rewards if we drill now, prices for crude and gas are set by future expectations and drilling in those areas would drop prices soon.
Why are we a nation of stupidity? Remember, any foreign nation can drill offshore our land as long as they are in international waters. With technology advancements, we will most likely see Chinese, Cuban, and Middle East countries rigs surrounding our west and east coasts in international waters while we continue to import their oil.
31. jimbo | 07.15.08
If the general public cannot see how the Democrat party, particularly Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and their ilk, is becoming more and more responsible for our oil predicament, then there is little hope for any American. Even though they say it will be years after the start of drilling before there will be any results, what is wrong with start drilling and pursue the other forms of energy, nuclear and windpower, etc. Obviously China thinks it is prudent to start drilling only 90 miles or less from our shore when our oil companies are not allowed to drill 100 miles offshore. In true Democratic style, they had rather place a tax on the oil companies instead of trying to become energy independent through the American tradition of work and sweat.
Folks, wake up before it’s too late. If we elect Barak Husein Obama as president in November, to serve with this gang of houligans in Congress, Katy bar the door! I just don’t think enough Americans realize how much new taxes will be added to their already difficult situation. If this happens.
God help us all.
32. Darryl Flasphaler | 07.15.08
We waste time trying to point fingers. Burning fossil fuels is not the way our species is going to survive on this planet. We must do something now to ensure we survive - it’d be patriotic maybe for us to say America first, but we are ALL in this mess together. In my opinion, it’d be pretty selfish of us to insist that we need to do anything just in order to maintain our present American standard of living. I think we are just beginning to see how critical energy policy is going to become for us Americans - especially since we’ve never really had one to begin with. Conservatives have had their way with that - as if market forces by themselves will suffice to ensure development and implementation of efficient methods of energy production and conservation. No. They could, but conservatives will not allow it until AFTER they’ve maximized their profits. Why should America wait for conservative corporate America to maximize their profits? We pay for everything - not them! Voters need to decide what is important. As long as the public remains apathetic and happy living life as they are told to, we can all expect our dependency on oil and coal to remain the same, and we can all look forward to our economy to continue heading SOUTH.
Nuclear energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, hydroenergy - from dams and from tidal action - all of these sources are available to us. Citizens - voters - need to make sure our government knows what we want and expect from energy suppliers. The 1970s were here just yesterday. This mess really sucks - we were on the road to preventing this kind of energy crisis from ever happening again - what happened? OIL AND COAL LOBBYISTS IS WHAT HAPPENED. Why can’t our own elected officials admit to that?
33. Simron | 07.15.08
Alternative technologies will take decades / The only reason gas is so high to day is because of rabid environmentalists / this is funny stuff so sad that we always cannot start to conserve until too late.Calif wanted to raise the mileage standard and was denied / we had our energy crisis in 2000 while our so called leaders were setting the future energy policy behind closed doors with the VP / none of these policies have seemed to work, **** we don’t even know what the policies are or who attended the meetings.GM fought all the new mileage standards because of the fat profits of SUV’s…now stock is @ a fifty-five year low.But lets get all the people out and drill for more oil instead of investing in alternate resourses and working a better solution. this sentence is moronic (oil consumption that is much higher because of environmentalists) HUH!! What!!
34. Normal US Citizen | 07.15.08
Well, so far oil has moved all of us into the 21st century. We all own cars, houses, tv’s, air conditioners, refrigerators, computers, etc… etc… We’ve been using oil / combustion engines since before my grate grate grate grandparents were born.
But now for some un-godly reason everyone is against it. Sorry Al Gore lovers CO2 is not the devil. CFC i could see as bad ( does not occur naturally and takes away 03 ), but oil and coal because of an invisible gas? that has raised our temperature? I don’t see how 4 billion people on earth who use fire would not raise the temperature at all. Even with wind / water / earth / heart (captain planet) power the electronics, electric heaters, etc. wouldn’t raise the temperature.
Final words…
If you hate oil… stop using it… buy a horse live up in the mountains and don’t bother anyone anymore.
35. CigarAshes | 07.15.08
For all of those who don’t believe that drilling for oil will lower the price, I ask you this question. Were you paying any attention during school when the basic concepts of supply and demand were discussed? If having a much larger supply were actually a probability, then the folks speculating on a shortage would be silenced. The price of oil would go back down. Supply and demand would work it’s way back to being in balance. Even if the new oil wasn’t being pumped and refined, the knowledge that it was on the way would take away any speculation.
We absolutely must work to find ways to decrease our oil dependency. We have been saying that for many years. I just can’t help but wonder if we will still be saying it 10 years from now. I, for one, think we should start the process of drilling our own oil now so that when we are still scratching our heads on how to make planes and cars run off electricity, we will be able to afford to use gas to do it.
36. Rich | 07.15.08
Drilling for oil is not a solution - it just delays the problem and instead of dealing with the issues now like adults we’re going to force future generations to deal with it when they won’t even have the option to drill for more oil as a fallback plan.
Also, why don’t oil companies drill for oil on the land they already have leased?
37. MWC | 07.15.08
I’m for continued exploration and development of oil, gas and nuclear power, as well as moving forward with renewables. But I’m tired of the partisan bickering and total misinformation with regard to ANWR which has become the poster child of “tree huggers” and “pro oil drillers” alike. The original post by Investors Business Daily is a joke of misinformation. Remember to differeniate between domestic oil production and oil imports and you will understand each parties spin.
TAKEN FROM -
Energy Information Agency, (EIA) (May 2008). Analysis of Crude Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Geologists state with 95% accuracy that ANWR contains 11.8 billion barrels of oil production.
DEMOCRATIC SPIN 11.8 billion barrels of ANWR Reserve = 567 days of total domestic consumption
REPUBLICAN SPIN 11.8 billion barrels of ANWR Reserve = One Half of our domestic oil production for 8 1/2 years
Wow, that’s a lot oil isn’t it?
They are the same number – both equal. It’s all in how you spin….sell it.
The known reserves don’t amount to squat.
TAKEN FROM CIA FACTBOOK - US Oil consumption:
20.8 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
US Oil imports:
13.15 million bbl/day (2004)
38. Linda | 07.15.08
THANK YOU PATRICK, at least there are a few of us who realize the importance of alternative energy! There is entirely too much greed in this country, because somehow it’s always about the OIL. We can hope that Congress will do the right thing and leave ANWR alone. While they are at it, they can make it safe forever by designating it a wilderness area. Let’s hope whoever ends up in the White House can do better than what we have now.
39. Paul Stewart | 07.15.08
I find it amazing that the main focus here is to just point the finger. And, to turn a blind eye to the real problem - dependence on oil in the first place. It is a major environmental as well as security problem. I don’t mean just a problem if it spills, it is a problem when it burns.
The alternative is solar first and foremost, then wind, then nuclear. The technology could easily have been developed for all of these and by the way, the gas consumption of an auto could have easily been cut in half or one third in the past 8 years if that was where leadership pushed the industry.
This is about as much a “free market” thing as was going to the moon. It is something that takes national and perhaps even multi-national leadership. It takes money and bucking the vested interests. It could easily have been done by a strong leader - neither Clinton nor Bush were such leaders. Obviously.
Drilling oil in these areas will take as much development time as going to the next generation energy - clean energy. Why waste time changing the subject? Vested interests of course - now they, along with the Bush government and all the neo cons have the world in fear with what is going on with oil supply and prices. This is the perfect storm for them to try to slip this one by us and lose another generation and perhaps the rights of our children and grand children to an environmentally safe planet and a full cancer and other hazard and disease free life.
We need a grand plan. It must be a coherent plan and one that looks to the future and not the past. It probably involves a bit of everything at first, from tapping some emergency reserves and some further development of oil reserves. But that must be in tandem with solar (read about MIT discovery that makes it cheap and can be implemented in three years - more will come to light soon I believe too that will accelerate this technology), wind (no not Pickens - we don’t want it to be centrally held and the power dissipated in heat in the air as it travels to where it is used; rather it should be in small quantities and placed everywhere and on everything - in your own home and yard and neighbourhood, like the windmills that pump water but much more sleek and efficient), and nuclear (central, under strong security and with a coherent containment plan that is fool proof).
This is no longer rocket science you know. Its just focusing the Nation and the money on it and just doing it. Politicians that try to divide on this issue should be voted out of office immediately. Those who play to vested interests, including oil, car companies etc., need to be replaced with forward thinking, young, strong leaders at all levels. This must be done now!
The way forward is easy for any right thinking person to see. The leadership to get there is all that is missing. Vote that leadership in. Do not waste your vote to continue with the past - vote for a shining bright future!
40. Roberto Figueroa | 07.15.08
Democrats are the party on the left right now. They are literally tearing this country to pieces. They have opposed since day one way back when the first oil crisis and they still have the same solution. Blame Big Oil for all the devils regarding oil exploration. All these buffoons who live in palatial estates, fly private jets with their cronies, have total disregard for the mess they have placed us. Everything is guilty from the president down except them. For 30 years nothing has been done and here we are again with the oil crisis. Is time to declare a Manhattan type project or Apollo program to tackle the energy problem. We do have 500 to 800 year of coal reserves here. Hydrogen could be made out of the coal and run efficient clean engines with no pollution. Atomic energy could power many cities and with the advancements of aeolian energy every little bit helps. Just the mere mention of a Manhattan type program would send the right signals to all those speculators who have fleeced us for the last year. For every one’s edification Big Oil makes less than the government charges in taxes on oil companies.
41. John from CA | 07.15.08
Even if you accept Richard Harris’s estimate of 10 billion barrels of oil in ANWR (which is really a little high w.r.t. proven reserves), that still amounts to less than one percent of the world’s proven reserves. That means that adding ANWR to the global supply in order to lower prices or cut our dependance on foreign oil is like adding about a quart of cold water to a hot bathtub in order to lower the temperature.
The total amount of U.S. oil currently protected is simply not enough to make a serious dent in either the price of oil or our dependance on foreign oil. In fact, even if we could extract it fast enough to supply our demand, our oil, both protected and unprotected would last about 5-6 years.
The fact is that demand for oil will only grow as other countries, such as China and India, grow their economies, and that supply for oil will only shrink, as it is a fundamentally limited resource. The price of oil will, over the long term, only go up in real dollars, and the price of anything that depends on oil for transportation or production will also tend to go up in real dollars, to the extent that increased productivity can not counteract the increased price of the oil.
42. sprrelease | 07.15.08
the SPR has been filled with our TAXPAYER’S money.
what are we saving if for OIL is at 140, markets are rocked, financials going down the drain… Lets release some of our oil and buy it back when prices drop…
43. MWC | 07.15.08
The US consumes this amount (from the CIA) -
Oil - consumption:20.8 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
And we import this amount -
Oil - imports:13.15 million bbl/day (2004)
So we import 63% of our daily needs. Prudhoe Bay produces 17% of our DOMESTIC OIL PRODUCTION which means 17% of 37% or 6% of our daily consumption.
It’s all hype between the parties.
With regard to ANWR - The tree huggers say, “we should not drill there because it is a fragile environment.” But they don’t like drilling anywhere. Big Oil paints it as “we will be less dependent on foreign oil, there’s so much oil there…….blah, blah, blah” The known reserves don’t amount to squat.
And so we allow ourselves to be taken in by partisan bickering instead of developing multiple solutions.
44. Robert | 07.15.08
Americans need to stop being so damned short sighted (and obtuse!!!!…I like that word). Think of this like a war. It is a war to develop energy. THERE IS NOT A SINGLE SOLUTION!!!!! People need to understand that and stop throwing out the ‘do this and everything will be fixed’ ideas. It is going to take a lot of ideas and planning.
1. I already live about 4 miles from a nuclear plant. As far as I am concerned, build another one that will give my house shade in the afternoon. Nuclear energy is an area we are way behind on developing.
2. Drill in Alaska. Drill in the Gulf. Drill in the heartlands. Play dentist and drill drill drill. It will not bring relief to the pumps in time for your trip to Disneyland in your 45 foot RV that gets 4 miles to the gallon. But, a PART (and I stress part, as in not the entire) of the problem is that for decades, we have been using the same old excuses for not drilling in these areas….The poor caribou, environmental disaster, not next to my house, the benefits are too far in the future…whatever. Well, if we had taken these actions 20 years ago, things might not be so bad now. Lets not have our children saying the same thing about us 20 years from now. But, any American companies that gain new areas to drill should be required by cleverly written lawyer speak to sell that oil to the UNITED STATES. I don’t want to see a drop of it go overseas. I also don’t want loopholes that mean they just rob Peter to pay Paul. I want these areas to provide an increase in supply to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Just don’t knock down the candycane post at the North Pole, I want something good this Christmas.
3. Alterative energy. Why in the bloody **** are we not the lead in this? We live in what is in my opinion, the greatest Nation that has ever been. We used to be the people everyone tried to steal secrets from. Now, those people are surpassing us in so many areas of alternative energy. The Government should take those billions of dollars in tax breaks away from oil companies and start giving the money gained to real researchers who have something to gain from sources of energy that will compete with big oil.
4. Stop the damned blame game. It is not the Democrats. It is not the Republicans. It is congress (and I don’t feel like capitalizing that word…they don’t deserve it) and politicians. You short sighted, greedy little buggers. Represent the people. Stop with the little pet projects, lobbyist favorites, the partisan **** and special treatment of certain people/groups. Make America great again, that IS within your power.
5. American people. Cut out the ‘not in my backyard’ ****. So many of you think a nuke plant is a great idea….just not in my backyard. Or that a new oil well is a good idea….just not there because that is my favorite spot to fish. Or that wind power is the shizzat….but not off the coast of Malibu because that would wreck my beautiful view. Suck it up. I personally don’t care if you cant see the horizon at all because there is a forest of wind mills churning out CHEAP and CLEAN energy to California. As I said….they can build a nuke power plant that shades my house in the afternoon for all I care.
6. The automobile companies and employees. The workers priced themselves out of a job with the unions demanding higher and higher wages imo (and yeah, I know there is a lot more to it). I mean really…..is pushing a button for 8 hours something that requires 45 dollars an hour in wages? And as for the companies….why is it that every time someone tries to mandate something on your vehicles (mpg, emissions….etc), you rally the wagons, lobby the **** out of congress and spend millions to fight doing it, all the while saying that it can’t be done? But then you see foreign auto companies are doing and have been doing it for years to a higher standard than what you are being asked to do? I am probably going to buy a new vehicle in a few months and I will be replacing my Ford Ranger with something foreign. I want better quality and higher mpg than American auto companies appear to be able to do (or so they say). Wake up, get on board, and get back into the lead on this. You should be the best…..buying American should not be a choice I make only to keep dollars in this country, it should be a choice I make because I want the best product.
7. Stop with all of the political correctness. It has gone too far. People should not be afraid to say what needs to be said just because it is going to offend someone.
I applaud anyone who not only read all of the way down the message board to my comments, but then actually made it thru my rant! /cheer!!!
45. Byron | 07.15.08
The facts. The REAL reason we are at the mercy of foreign (and hostile) oil producing countries and greedy domestic energy barons, the REAL reason why we’re in this dire predicament? The Republicans. It has been their unswerving (paid) alligence to Big Oil and Coal and conspiracy to back-burner and trivialize clean and renewable energies like solar and wind every step of the way.
We need never have been in this predicament. If they had decided to do the right thing way back when we might have been free of oil by now. It’s a scandal of the first order. People have been calling for clean alternatives for decades now but the Republicans in Washington, in bed with Fat Cat CEOs, have done all they could to favor Oil and Coal by giving them huge subsidies and tax breaks while simultaneously roadblocking R&D into renewables. Why? Because de-centralized alternatives would mean no longer being dependent on a large central corporation to provide one’s energy needs. A population with their own solar panels or wind turbines etc. would OWN their energy and not have to continually pay for it and they simply could not have that. With all stationary buildings “off-the-grid” we could have greatly reduced oil use (drastically cutting greenhouse gas emmissions in the bargain) and made a dwindling supply last longer, perhaps long enough for us to come up with a better solution for transportation. But no. Frankly, it’s just insane.
One would think that with the sudden spiking of gas prices recently, though, these politicians would remember their supposed role of looking out for the American people and would realize that we should be investing in renewables - but you’d be wrong.
“Separately, Democrats also failed to get Republican support for a proposal to extend tax breaks for wind, solar and other alternative energy development, and for the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation. The tax breaks have either expired or are scheduled to end this year…. The oil companies could have avoided the tax if they invested the money in alternative energy projects or refinery expansion. It also would have rescinded oil company tax breaks — worth $17 billion over the next 10 years — with the revenue to be used for tax incentives to producers of wind, solar and other alternative energy sources as well as for energy conservation.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/10/republicans-block-extra-t_n_106282.html
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2002/2002-07-19-09.asp#anchor2
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1525/is_4_85/ai_63127627
When Bill Clinton tried to make it fairer again the Republicans put the breaks on anything that could lead to a switch away from dirty energy (oil, coal, nuclear).
http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/new/html/Tue_Oct_3_130025_2000.html
Maybe no one want’s to touch it but it’s the 500 lb gorilla in the living room, and we all know it. Isn’t it time to tell the truth?
46. Fred Johnson | 07.15.08
“The democrats answer to the current crisis is short sighted.”
No. The Republican answer which is to drill and sacrifice this nations few remaining pristine areas for an extremely temporary fix is what is short sighted. Bush and the Republicans blocked real increases in automobile fuel efficiency. Now GM, Ford, and Chrysler can’t sell any cars and trucks, because they run on too much of the wrong type of fuel. You won’t sell me another car that runs on gasoline. I want an electric car, so should you. Solar, wind and nuclear power are the answers to this mess the Republican’s have made worse by staying addicted to oil, and not focusing all of our nations resources to replace oil with alternative energy.
48. Zach | 07.15.08
Amazing how many fail to realize that oil companies have leases on 68 million acres of land in the US that they currently aren’t using.
http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=389&Itemid=1
It’s insane that oil companies are ******** about not having enough oil to drill, when they have way more than they’re currently using…
49. Matt | 07.15.08
Richard Levine,
Funny that you mention T. Boone Pickens, who has publicly stated that he believes the world has reached the point of peak oil production, or is very close to it. Many analysts agree. Peak oil theory states that without a dramatic reduction in demand, the cost of oil will rise inexorably once production has peaked. The implications are of an unprecedented global economic and energy crisis — unless alternatives are developed and implemented. No amount of new drilling, particularly in the US where production peaked more than 30 years ago, will reverse this. New projects wouldn’t come online for a long time, even if they held great promise, which domestic production does not. ANWR, for instance, is projected to hold enough oil to satisfy current US demand for 520 days or so. It wouldn’t put a dent in the price of oil, given the time-frame in which it would take to come to market and the duration over which production would take place. Opening ANWR is akin to putting a band-aid on a severed head. Ask yourself why oil companies have never produced the millions of acres where they currently hold leases. The fact is that discoveries of mega-fields, such as those once found in Saudi Arabia, ended many years ago. Oil is getting scarcer, and what’s left is more difficult and more expensive to access.
T. Boone Pickens, who you proposed as next US President, is actively promoting a plan that emphasizes energy conservation and development of renewable alternatives such as wind and solar, not mindless drilling that would do nothing to address the impending energy disaster the world faces. He is a smart man, who realizes there is also great economic promise in alternative energy. Whoever mentioned the need for a Manhattan Project type of alternative energy initiative nailed it. Only massive investment in development and implementation of alternative, renewable energy sources holds hope of getting us out of the incredible mess humanity has created for itself. Oil is a dead-end street. None of this debate even takes into account the vast environmental implications of fossil fuel-driven climate change. These effects themselves will ultimately be the source of great economic costs. Few people pay attention to environmental problems until they reach the point of health and/or economic crisis. That day, too, is coming soon.
50. Fred Johnson | 07.15.08
“The democrats answer to the current crisis is short sighted.”
No. The Republican answer which is to drill and sacrifice this nations few remaining pristine areas for an extremely temporary fix is what is short sighted. Bush and the Republicans blocked real increases in automobile fuel efficiency. Now GM, Ford, and Chrysler can’t sell any cars and trucks, because they run on too much of the wrong type of fuel. You won’t sell me another car that runs on gasoline. I want an electric car, so should you. Solar, wind and nuclear power are the answers to this mess the Republican’s have made worse by staying addicted to oil, and not focusing all of our nations resources to replace oil with alternative energy.
51. jon | 07.16.08
Americans are just ignorant, in general… and proud of it.
The key point in this whole off-shore drilling debate, is that the Oil Companies already have 68 Million (not 6.8 million, as the article says) acres of leases, which they’re doing nothing with. And if the moratorium is lifted, they’ll have more acreage to sit on. It will do nothing about current oil prices… and even experts in the Bush Administration, say oil from any new leases wouldn’t be available, for decades.
So, as usual, the GOP perpetuates a lie, which the electorate again, seems very happy to *buy.* As long as it sounds nice, it works for them.
Reality has no meaning to these people.
It’s very sad, what has happened to the People… it’s like there is an allergy to thought.
52. Mike | 07.16.08
After reading the comments section relative to the Dem’s thwarting future exploration and extraction of oil, I think you should rename your magazine “Commie Science Monitor”. Your readers are, by and large, a bunch of whining, snot nosed elitists who are **** bent on destroying the American way of life. If they loath our life style so much, move the **** out of the country. I’m sure Iran or Sudan would welcome them. You liberal leftists make me want to puke.
53. Mike | 07.16.08
BTW, better tell your spell checker that **** is a valid, non profane word, e.g., **** bent for leather.
55. Doug | 07.16.08
Maybe instead of bashing each other, we should try another approach. A lot of the resistance to mopre drilling is the obscene profits made and pocketed by the oil companies. Lets nationalize oil, and the rest of natural resources for that matter. Anything that is this important to our national economy, and in some cases like heating oil, can be life or death, should be left to the whims of the “free market” is simply wrong. I think a lot of people would be excited about more drilling, if they knew that “we the people” would benefit dirrectly, and would not be just adding to the bottom lines of the big oil companies.
56. 陸博兮 | 07.16.08
高油价不僅僅是美國人民所關心的問題 同時他也嚴重影響著幾乎地球上的所有人 ，石油價格的上漲有多種因素造成，但是它和來自伊拉克的石油供給減少也是密切相關的，布什總統對產油國垂涎三尺久矣，我想他如果即將對伊朗也採取軍事行動，那麽無疑這個不明智的舉動將會是世界經濟陷入更深的泥沼，希望他好自爲之。
57. Jarid | 07.16.08
Ok….
To Doug:
1 EVERY nationalized or socialized agency in the US has failed or is failing, public education, postal service, medicare, social security, and so on. So you are telling me that you would like some bureaucratic self righteous group of people who are pulled from all directions by lobbyist to run our natural resources….WRONG…In fact in the current market oil industries make approx 8 cents per gallon of gas….where as state, federal and local governments make on average 18 cents per gallon. You cant blame a business because they are successful, simple fact is YES we need to get off of oil, not expanding production is stupid, but also assuming that you can only have one side of the coin is moronic. We do need more oil production to ease both economical constraints as well as social constraints and saying no more drilling in the US is not the option. On that same not, subsidizing new energy technologies, and so on should take priority with oil expansion.
58. Mark | 07.16.08
Get off the oil addiction. Quit whining about offshore oil drilling, which will only solve the problems short term and find solutions for the long term.
Americans have been spoiled by low gas prices. It is time to find alternative solutions other than making Bush’s buddies richer.
59. JRD | 07.16.08
We have no choice but to use a multi-pronged approach to energy. Including utilizing conservation, exploration, drilling, alternative fuels, nuclear power, wind, etc..etc…
Descent into political chaos will not solve this issue - no one will have EVERYTHING they want out of a multi-pronged approach that will reduce the chances that any one corrupt group will totally manipulate energy for profit at the expense of future energy resources and future generations.
Lastly - no one talks about population growth in developing countries as a serious threat to the environment - although Communist China, with its “one child” policy at least anticipated it….no - I don’t like that either, but we need to move toward a sustainable population level on earth…and the U.S. is not the major source of that particular problem.
A multi-pronged energy policy including controlling demand MUST also deal with population growth which DIRECTLY INCREASES demand on a DAILY basis.
60. Phil | 07.16.08
The oil companies need more places to drill like they need a hole in the head. Google “gull island” and check out what is available there and I wish someone would explain to me why the US oil companies are EXPORTING 1.6 million barrels of oil a day to places like Canada and Mexico, to name a few.
61. robert | 07.16.08
cigar ash-
Thanks for the demand/supply lesson. Now let me tell you the part you must have missed…maybe you were sick that day. First let me say I dont’ mind some new drilling although I’d like the drilling to first go to the 68M sm already open to drilling. But when we get some offshore oil on the market it will have to be compared to the world supply. IT is not likely to be enough to move the price much. US oil is not going to be much cheaper simply because it is located here (maybe some transport savings). It will be priced based on the world supply. Do you really think it will be enough to supply to lower the price?
62. MWC | 07.16.08
ANWR…..the poster child of “tree huggers” and “pro oil drillers” alike.
Don’t expect ANWR or a dozen ANWR’s to solve the problem anytime soon.
Geologists state with 95% accuracy that ANWR contains 11.8 billion barrels of oil production.
The DEMOCRAT’s SPIN it this way - 11.8 billion barrels of ANWR Reserve = 567 days of TOTAL DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION.
The REPUBLICAN’s SPIN it this way - 11.8 billion barrels of ANWR Reserve = One Half of our DOMESTIC OIL PRODUCTION for 8 1/2 years.
One Half of our Domestic Oil production would be about 15% of our Daily Consumption. Coming on line in 5 years would amount to SQUAT.
They are the same number – both equal. It’s all in how you spin…sell it.
I dispise the partisan bickering and total misinformation with regard to both parties. Both parties have failed this country.
The only solution is through greater efficiency standards, greater exporation of oil, gas, nuclear and moving agressively on renewables.
63. Steve | 07.16.08
Solar is being built rapidly in the south west on leased land now, 15 nuclear plants have permits applied for and plans to build, wind is big business in Texas, geothermal is cost effective in many places it wasn’t before. We already have much of the technology we need just not the infrastructure built yet. We just need cheap oil long enough to develop our alternative sources and Lithium batteries for automobiles. We are almost there. Keep drilling now so we have enough oil to get across the finish line!! THE GLASS IS HALF FULL!!
64. Geophys55 | 07.16.08
1. We need ALL enegry resources now - including nukes and conservation, not just oil or just biofuels or just wind.
2. Alternatives will work when they can compete. Ethanol can’t compete right now, even with a 50 cent/gal subsidy, because of cost of corn. (NPR, yesterday).
3. Leases are called idle when still under exploration or determined to be uneconomic to produce. You can’t drill ‘em when the oil’s not there or you can’t yet find it!
4. US oil brings US lease fees almost immediately, US jobs quickly and US royalties on a continuing basis. The Feds will be a 1/8 to 1/4 partner who can take their share in oil and sell it to whom they want for what price they want - or take cash.
5. This “Manhattan Project” everybody keeps talking about is going to be expensive. Oil royalties could cover it, though - if we but had some.
65. Oback Arama | 07.16.08
Frankly, I am disapointed that the price of gasoline has risen as rapidly as it has. I would have preferred a more gradual increase to current levels. I support a gradual increase in price to the price paid in European countries in the range of $9 to $10 per gallon. That will constrict demand so that people will switch to driving golf carts to work and to grandma’s house.
Yes, it’s true that high gas prices will hurt the middle class the most but it’s time they learned that the world is sick and tired of our using so much energy and the middle class just needs to get over it. Yes, yes, I know that Democrat policies have caused the high prices that are destroying the auto industry and the trucking industry and the US economy in general but our standing in the eyes of the world will increase dramatically if we reduce our use of energy. I am counting on the fact that the unions will still support me and those boz.. irr… aaah workers will still vote for me and when they do, I will get new and better and more ethical jobs for them in green industries that the auto workers and teamsters will love.
The right is so ignorant about the laws of supply and demand. Just because you increase supply by drilling doesn’t mean that prices will come down, at least that’s what my advisors keep telling me, not to mention the Democrat brain trust in Congress and the Senate.When you elect me to be your president, I promise to use sound Democrat laws of supply and demand such as: confiscating obscene profits from our evil domestic oil companies, restricting the speeds on our highways to 55 MPH or less, and outlawing all automobiles with less than 35 miles per gallon fuel efficiency. Long term I will encourage local officials to develop and implement a central control mechanism controlling the thermostat settings of all residential and business property within 3 years.
You can have hope that I will change these things and others to bring us to policies that will make us feel good about ourselves. Riding in golf carts is change that works for me and change that I can use. Can you use that kind of hope and change?
Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!
That’s why I’m running for president.
I’m Oback Arama and I approved this message.
obackaramablog.com
66. Edmund | 07.16.08
There´s no time for fussing or fighting my friends WE ALL PEOPLE need to share all that MOTHER NATURE provide us with.
67. Ben | 07.16.08
I think that the kneejerk reactions that are currently being postulated are just that kneejerk. The opening up of large oil reserves offshore to deal with the current situations is somewhat of a joke. To believe that we can alleviate the current global oil problems by beginning to drill is too little too late. And it is the true political game, nothing was done before it all became too late. What needs to be happening is a wider look at the reasons behind the economic problems we are all suffering from; the credit crunch and the current oil price.
We need to deal with short term issues in a timescale which is realisable, which means that right now we need OPEC increase production, something that has been resisted for quite a while now.
Secondly we need to invest in dramatically reducing our consumption of the black gold. Here in Europe car efficiency is dramatically higher that north American vehicles. probably given that fuel costs are about $9 a gallon and have been much higher for as long as I can remember. Therefore the adoption of technologies which are already in existence here e.g. high efficiency diesel cars, could dramatically reduce the average Americans fuel bills if the stigmas could be addressed and peoples attitudes changed. These are all very easy and realiseable changes that could dramatically affect the situation now. the analogy being to what our countries achieved in WW2. We all conquered those problems because we had the impetus and drive to do so and do so in a very short time frame - our parent and grandparents have a lot to be thanked for.
Thirdly we need to sensibly address the energy question at a global level. The investment in implementing new technologies needs to begin now, not the R&D stages but the actual pilots of technologies to achieve our energy needs and that can come online in the next 7 - 12 years time. I personally believe that there will not be one silver bullet of technological development that saves us all. It will be a combination of wave/tidal power, Wind farms (which here in the UK are providing larger and larger proportions or electrical energy), solar developments, and bio or carbon neutral fuels. All combined with cleanup initiatives to reduce the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere. But all these technologies will not support the energy consumption we have all grown accustomed to. We MUST become more energy efficient - and significantly so. The golden years of cheap oil driving big trucks and muscle cars has come to an end. It’s a hard pill to swallow but it’s the position that we have all created.
We need to now ask: if we can address our own energy consumption, what can we do to help developing countries not go down the same wasteful route that we in the west have done? - for that question my jury is still out but why are we not hearing suggestions from the policy makers - thats the battle they should be looking at now for the future.
Ben H - UK
68. chabuka | 07.17.08
Richard Harris…Congress, neither the Democrat or your “RINO” Republicans have opposed refineries…the oil companies have not asked for nor improved any old or new refineries (in fact they have shut down over half of the refineries in the U.S. in the last twenty-five years)..go drill some where else…like the 6 million acres that the oil companies already hold leases on..Bullshit the tourists (if you want)..but we live here…..seven to ten years from now a drop in price by five cents will not make a **** of a lot of difference….tell me why Old Mexico has gas at considerably lower prices in their country than we do here in the U.S.? Same gas EXPORTED by the same oil companies that we get our gas from…but at a much lower price…you work for an oil company don’t you..or are a lobbyist…you are concerned with your own welfare, only! You are either unpatriotic and selfish…or terribly mis-informed..either way, you are full of excrement
69. chabuka | 07.17.08
I came back because I have thought about the damn fool ignorants who want to “drill”, what are you?…f**king idiots..? The whole world economy is collapsing around your stupid f**king heads..the U.S. economy is collapsing… we are selling our country to the highest bidder..you are tenants in your own damned country and you think “drilling” will solve the problem…? What the **** are you thinking…? You think we are going to drill our way out of total economic collapse….? You stupid little punks…don’t you grasp what will happen if this country goes bankrupt…? You think the price of gas is going to be a major concern if you have no car, no shelter, no food…some one should ***** slap you morons into reality..read the godamn “Grapes of Wrath” you stupid little f**ks
70. Don | 07.17.08
Republicans have done nothing to preserve and provide inexpensive oil resources. The latest push for offshore drilling is nothing but empty rhetoric designed to force the opposite reaction from Democrats. The inept and corrupt Republican party hopes to give McCain a defensible position in his losing battle against the more savvy Obama who holds virtually all the cards in the presidential race. Democrats will not allow offshore drilling. In fact, the GOP’s own governor of California opposes drilling offshore from the Golden State. The GOP ought to spend its time looking for ways to salvage some of its Congressional districts in 2008 rather than wasting its political capital on its dimwitted energy policiesss
72. MWC | 07.18.08
Chabuka
The only solution is through greater efficiency standards, greater exporation of oil, gas, nuclear and moving agressively on renewables.
73. K | 07.20.08
Enough of this incessant, childish bickering. There’s no single simple solution. Shut up, get out of the way, and let free enterprise find the solution.
75. Paul | 07.24.08
It is clear to me that Republicans who comment on this are too swayed by the Republican only media outlets that tell them to instantly believe a Republican who is trying to save them and this country from Democrats. The best question posed in this article is why should we open up areas to more drilling and exploration if 68 MILLION ACRES of already leased land is not being drilled on? It seems to me that oil companies themselves seek to hoarde all the land that oil can be extracted from and open it to the possibility of drilling as fast as possible, but only drill when it suits their bottom line.
My bottom line: we the people have the ability to mandate that land will be used. If the oil companies refuse to drill on the land they have then we need to get someone in there who will drill. If THAT doesn’t lower the price of a gallon of gas, THEN we need to dump our tax dollars into passing new legislation and developing alternative energy sources.
Peace be with you one and all.
76. Bob | 07.24.08
• “Oil companies are sitting on 68 million acres of oil leases and refuse to drill.”
This is yet another slander of “Big Oil” by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — one that has become a major talking point for Democrats in Congress. It’s completely dishonest.
Oil companies have spent billions of dollars for those leases. Drilling has increased by more than 66% since 2000. They are searching for oil even as you read this. Some parts of those 68 million acres will have oil, some won’t. But at $145 a barrel, you can bet oil companies have plenty of incentive to find it.
That said, 68 million acres is in fact a minuscule amount. Some 94% of federal lands — 658 million acres — remains off-limits to exploration. Another 97% — or 1.7 billion acres — of federal offshore properties likewise remains off-limits. These lands contain tens of billions of barrels of recoverable oil. It’s there for the taking, now.
How much energy is there? Federal lands, according to the American Petroleum Institute, hold 651 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to fuel 60 million households for 160 years. They hold at least 116 billion barrels of oil, maybe more. That’s enough to fuel 65 million cars and provide fuel oil for 3.2 million homes for 60 years.
As such, it’s the height of irresponsibility for Congress to leave these lands off the table. It ensures we remain vulnerable to pariah petrostates like Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iran and others who wish us ill.
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1. Richard Harris | 07.15.08
from;INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY
For the last 28 years, Democrats in Congress and a few RINO-Republicans have again and again opposed our drilling for oil in Alaska ’s ANWR area when we knew it contained at least 10 billion barrels of oil we could be using now.• For the past 31 years, Congress repeatedly prevented us from building any new oil refineries that we now badly need.• More recently, congressional Democrats defeated and discouraged any bill that would let us drill in the deep sea 100 miles out. However, it’s somehow OK for China to drill there.• As a further indictment of our Congress, since the 1980s it has continually stopped all building of nuclear power plants while France, Germany and, yes, Japan, plus 12 other major nations, did build plants and now get 20% to 80% of their energy from their wise and safe nuclear plant investments.• From 1990 to 2000, U.S. crude oil demand rapidly accelerated by 7.41 quadrillion BTUs, according to Department of Energy data. And our rate of foreign oil dependency dramatically increased while our domestic oil production steadily declined.Under the eight Clinton years alone, U.S. oil production declined 1,349,000 barrels per day, or 19%, while our foreign imports increased 3,574,000 barrels per day, or 45%. During this time, President Clinton vetoed ANWR drilling bills that would have clearly made Alaska our No. 1 state in the production of our own vitally needed oil supply, not only for all Americans but also for national defense emergencies. So were Democrats and members of Congress together merely short-sighted, with only a few having any real business experience?Or were they just ignorant about economics — the fact that the law of supply and demand determines the price of all commodities such as oil, steel, copper and lumber?Or were they simply and utterly irresponsible and incompetent in their actions that led us to become dangerously dependent on increasing oil imports from foreign countries?We think it was “all of the above.” The unintended consequence of the Congress members’ poor judgment and meddling micromanagement of U.S. energy policy is that they actually hurt most the very people they always profess to be able to help — the average American consumer, lower-income workers and those in the inner city who can’t afford an extra $100 a month to drive to and from their jobs. Democrats kowtowed to the wishes of their environmental supporters over the basic needs of 300 million American citizens. It is a national disgrace that all they now know how to do is relentlessly criticize, complain and condemn. They always attempt to blame, investigate and scapegoat someone else, in this case U.S. oil companies, when Congress is the true villain of ineptness for constantly blocking and obstructing every effort for us to become more productive and less dependent on foreign oil. Do those now in Congress really think Middle America ’s voters are so gullible that they will believe that its latest best and brightest answer to increasing our supply of oil and gas is to slap a 25% windfall penalty tax on oil companies and remove all other incentives for oil companies to drill and explore for oil?