Our lives revolve around oil. Oil brings food to our stores, comprises the fibers in our carpets and makes the plastic in our DVDs. With demand so high it’s no wonder attention has turned to supply, with some advocating the U.S. lift the ban against drilling for oil off its coasts. Is offshore oil drilling a golden opportunity, or would it only create a tidal wave of disaster?
Americans are being squeezed by high energy prices. And the oil companies are taking advantage to push their long term drilling agenda. For decades the oil companies have demanded access to the oil off our coasts and buried beneath our most pristine wildlands. Now --in the waning days of the Bush administration, they are making a last-chance land grab. But the truth is that more drilling will do nothing to lower gas prices or create energy independence.
The federal government's Energy Information Administration estimates that it would take roughly ten years for oil from new offshore drilling to become available, and even then it would have a "negligible" impact on the price of a gallon of gas. Because the U.S. sits on less than 3 percent of the world's oil reserves, the oil produced here amounts to a drop in the bucket and won't have an impact on prices on the world market.
Oil companies are raking in billions in profits. Last quarter, ExxonMobil made more money in one three-month period than any other corporation in US history -- while we were paying $4 a gallon for gas. Increased drilling won't solve the problem -- but it will increase oil industry profits. Doing more of the same won't solve our problem -- embracing clean energy options and efficiency will.
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