So McCain wants to drill for oil off of America’s coast in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  While I don’t like McCain as a person, and I disagree with his campaign tactics, this is something that he is being smart about.  I even think he should take it one step further, and, like Bush, support drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as well. Drilling in America for oil will not only bolster the economy, but it will provide the infrastructure for a long lasting source of energy that will benefit the generations to come.

It is important that we take this step now because of the amount of time that it will take to build the necessary infrastructure to successfully extract American oil for Americans to use. “If we were to drill today, realistically speaking, we should not expect a barrel of oil coming out of this new resource for three years, maybe even five years, so let’s not kid ourselves,” said Fadel Gheit, oil and gas analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. Equity Capital Markets Division.  It would take ten years to get the necessary infrastructure in place to safely extract oil from the Arctic Refuge in Alaska.  The longer we wait to begin using the energy sources that we have here within our own borders, the longer we will leave our economy in the hands of foreign rulers, both friend and foe.

Of course, that’s not how the Democrats want to spin it.  “After eight years, President Bush and [Vice President] Dick Cheney have turned the GOP into the Gas and Oil Party. That’s the legacy that they are going to leave,” said Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts.  He would rather leave the American economy and their pocketbooks in the hands of the leaders of OPEC nations (which include Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, Angola, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Indonesia).  But, as Barack Obama explained, “It’s another example of short-term political posturing from Washington, not the long-term leadership we need to solve our dependence on oil.”

The benefit of drilling today is that, if like many of the Democrats in Congress claim, the price of oil is largely being driven up by speculators, then they will see that the long term direction of oil is not up, but down, which will lead to reduced interest and thereby lower prices for oil.  In reality, there are a number of factors affecting the price of oil, which include speculation, depreciation of the dollar, developing nations, increased demand, and insufficient supply, to name a few.

In 2007, the US consumed 20.7 million barrels of oil per day (see EIA).  According to CNN.com, the White House estimates that there are 18 billion barrels of oil offshore that have not been exploited because of state bans, 10 billion to 12 billion in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Green River Basin.  Doing some simple math, that oil alone would provide enough oil for the U.S. to COMPLETELY sever itself from dependence on foreign oil for over 100 years!  And that’s just the resources that we know about.  (Now, of course I am a proponent of the global economy, and bettering everyone’s standard of living through specialization – basic macroeconomic principles – but this statistic proves the point that the U.S. has a lot of currently unused oil).

Obviously I am also a proponent of developing new technology in order to make our reserves last even longer, or to completely overcome our need for oil as an energy source at all.  However, unlike Barack Obama and others, I don’t think we should put the economy on the chopping block in exchange.  According to his campaign, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama wants to invest $150 billion over the next 10 years to establish a green energy sector, create a national low-carbon fuel standard to ensure that the fuel is more efficient, and invest in clean energies like solar, wind and biodiesel.  He thinks that a windfall profits tax would ease the burden of energy costs on working families. Maybe it’s because I’m a young and inexperienced in politics , but I don’t understand how levying a 25% tax on the oil companies (like the bill that the Democrats tried to push through Congress a few weeks ago) is going to drive the price of oil (and consequently gas) lower for working class families, or for anyone, for that matter!

The development of new energy sources, alternate modes of transportation (electric cars, improved public transportation), improved technology (new refineries that extract more gallons of gas per barrel of oil, more efficient engines), and other developments that will ultimately reduce world dependence on oil as a sole source of energy will not benefit us, but they may benefit our grandchildren and their posterity.  However, these technologies will take even longer to develop and implement than merely drilling the existing oil in North America.  Rather than solely focus on one or the other, it is important to focus on solving today’s problems and looking forward to even better solutions for tomorrow.

Sources:
McCain wants to lift ban on offshore drilling
Bush asks Congress to clear way for offshore oil drilling
Bush Says Dems to Blame for High Gas Prices
Energy Information Administration

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