No More Fake Solutions
Americans
are suffering from the high cost of gas, but drilling for lower prices is a
fraud.
America consumes one-quarter of
the world’s oil but only has 3 percent of its reserves. Opening our fragile
coasts to access this small amount of oil simply won’t make a dent in our needs
– particularly as we compete with rising demands in China
and India .
Furthermore,
it could be years before America
reaps any benefits from expanded coastal drilling, and even then it will be a
matter of cents, not dollars.
According
to the Department of Energy, offshore drilling will not impact oil production
for ten to twenty years. This means that a decade or two from now, Americans
could save somewhere between 3 and 4 cents. Clearly this is too little and too
late for Americans that deserve a solution today.
Continuing
to drill will only keep us dependent on oil, which is good for no one but Big
Oil and their Washington
allies.
Instead
of relying on the same, disastrous policies that got us into this mess, we need
to invest in innovative, homegrown solutions that will reduce our dependence on
foreign oil and lower the cost of gas. Even oil man T. Boone Pickens said “this
is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of,” and Americans agree with him.
In fact, in a recent poll , 83% of the
respondents said they want to end our dependence on foreign oil by investing in
clean, renewable energy sources.
This
is exactly what we need to be doing, so let’s start making the right
investments and stop talking about fake solutions.
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The only reason we use these kinds of fuels is because of history and we need a new history, a change, one that Obama, seems to forget about. Im tired of the same old thing so why not listen to some of our most educated and intelligent students and try a different resource for fuel!
We need new and inovative means to power the next generation and its not with gasoline~ this economy has for too long catered to big oil companies and they are now calling the shots so I say STOP IT! Im seriously at the point to tell ALL baby boomers out there to go on welfare to break this countrys financial back in two, we are already suffering from Obama stress fractures with all his bailouts and stimulus pressures and it wouldnt take much to bring this country to its knees and maybe then someone would listen that status quo is not working anymore. Does change always have to follow drastic measures, cant we be smart enough, to not suffer a Sept. 11 to our economy or must we suffer great losses everytime inorder to have a wake up call? I hope not.
You can't always just think about yourself and your generation. Shouldn't you think about what is best for your country as a whole in the future? It is pretty obvious that there is no immediate solution to our oil problem or our where-are-our-renewable-resources-because-we-need-them-now problem. I think that people really just enjoy sitting back and complaining about it rather than actually trying to make a difference. Yes, we need renewable resources. Yes, we need to become independent from oil. However, I think that people have forgotten that you have to work hard for the things that will really make a difference. Plus, in order to help yourself, sometimes you need to help others as well. So, why not put some hard work into making the next generation's lives a little bit better? They will know what you did for them, and they will be willing to do the same for the generations after them.
So, go drill!
I think that you make several excellent points, the main one being that we need to work to make life better for future generations. In order for a change to be made, at some point we need to quit fussing about whose fault it is and how to fix it Right Now and do what needs to be done. We will not be able to find an easy fix to an old problem. I am an athlete and know from experience that when you develop a bad habit it takes a lot of time and a lot and practice to fix that.
The real issue behind the importation of oil is the amount of US currency that gets sucked out of the country. We need to do what we can to change that.
The US also had about 3% of the world's reserves 30 years ago. By your logic, we should not have drilled Prudhoe Bay or the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Those areas now provide about 25% of US domestic production. What do you think gas prices would be now if we took 1.5 million barrels per day off the US domestic market? Additionally, those areas took 10 years to bring online, so again by your logic they should never have been developed. You seem to be saying that if it benefits our children instead of us, then it's not worth doing.
The percentage of reserves argument is irrelevant. If the oil industry found 50 billion barrels of oil in the offshore in the next 5 years, that would amount to about 4% of the world's reserves. But it could double US oil production. That's not insignificant. Reserves are not the primary driver of price. Production is.
Your reference to the DOE forecast shows that you don't know the difference between a plan, an estimate, and a fact. The DOE could be off by miles. There could be 20 times what they forecast. Or there could be nothing at all. You don't know until you drill it. You also discuss offshore drilling only in terms of gas prices. You disregard the macroeconmic impacts. A not unreasonable 1 million barrels per day could generate, at $100 oil:
1) $3-4 billion in lease bids
2) $20 million per day in royalty revenues to state/fedearl agencies
3) $4 billion in state taxes per year
4) $13 billion in federal taxes per year
5) $40 billion per year that stays ion the US rather than going overseas
6) because of #5, a stronger dollar, lower interest rates and inproved trade deficit
7) thousand of quality jobs
And you claim that drilling is only good for Big Oil.
Additionally, you fixate on absolute price impact. What about the relative impact? What would be the price impact if we suddenly removed this hypoethitcal 1 million barrels per day from the market in 2025?
Exlpain to readers why drilling offshore would keep us dependent on oil. Alternative eenrgy now accounts for about 10% of US venture capital. The economic incentives are huge. Exxon's drilling plans in offshore California are not going to make one bit of difference to solaror wind industry R&D programs. Especially if as you say drilling will have no price impact. This is an example of using hollow slogans as policy tools. Your statement is meaningless. It's not an either/or proposition. The oil and alternative industries will continue to invest in parallel.
"83% of the respondents said they want to end our dependence on foreign oil by investing in clean, renewable energy sources." Yes and probably 50% are assuming some kid of magical fairy dust will appear. The average American is as poorly informed on energy matters as you are. But wishing doesn't make it so, I'm afraid. The same DOE you cite in defense of your views also forecasts petroleum liquids consumption in the US to rise from 40 to almost 50 quadrillino BTU's by 2030.They forecast current global production of around 85 million barrels per day rising to 112 million per day by 2030.