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A Man of Mystery, Bush Lifts His Dad’s Drilling Ban |
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Yesterday President Bush lifted the executive ban on offshore drilling, a move that will have virtually no impact unless Congress lifts its corresponding moratorium. From the Rose Garden yesterday Bush stated:
For years, my administration has been calling on Congress to expand domestic oil production. Unfortunately, Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal — and now Americans are paying at the pump…
One of the most important steps we can take to expand American oil production is to increase access to offshore exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf, or what’s called the OCS. But Congress has restricted access to key parts of the OCS since the early 1980s. Experts believe that these restricted areas of the OCS could eventually produce nearly 10 years’ worth of America’s current annual oil production.
Of course, it’s not just Democrats in Congress who have restricted access to the OCS since the early 1980s. Setting aside the troublesome fact that Republicans controlled Congress on three separate occasions since then, it was Dubya’s Dad, the first President Bush, who introduced the executive prohibition on offshore drilling that was lifted yesterday. As usual the President is flinging accusations at Democrats that seem to boomerang toward himself and his party.
Moreover any implication that Democratic idleness is the reason Americans are paying at the pump is epic hogwash — as much as the President would like everything to be their fault the Democrats are actually not responsible for rising incomes in China and, you know, the lack of infinite fossilized hydrocarbons in the Earth’s crust. If anyone is responsible for high gas prices for Americans, it is the administration that has stonewalled climate legislation and any meaningful endorsement of alternative, renewable energies. (Don’t be bamboozled. Ethanol depends on fossil fuels.)
Even if Bush’s “experts” are correct in predicting offshore drilling could produce “10 years’ worth of America’s current annual oil production,” the prediction is meaningless. America’s oil production is a fraction of America’s oil consumption, and as we all know by now any newly-tapped reserves wouldn’t bring additional oil to the global market until 7-10 years from now.
Nevertheless, in challenging Congress the President added this seeming contradiction to his statement yesterday:
This means that the only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress…This legislation must allow states to have a say in what happens off their shores, provides a way for the federal government and states to share new leasing revenues, and ensure the environment is protected.
So really, the only thing that stands between the American people and these “vast” oil reserves is the U.S. Congress….plus the electorates of the country’s coastal states, plus those 7-10 years, plus irreparable environmental damage, plus pure luck that there’s any usable oil there at all. I mean, for an oilman and a President, the man sure does display a shocking lack of comprehension about oil and federalism. And everything else, for that matter.
Don’t look now. There are fears Democrats in Congress may soon offer their constituents yet another crippling blow and capitulate on lifting the Congressional moratorium.
Add to all that the incredible shortsightedness of Bush’s comments. Off shore drilling is only going to prolong the inevitable - we will eventually have no choice but to develop a post-oil economy.
How are future generations going to feel if we add 10 more years worth of pollution to the air, and delay the development of lasting transportation solutions - just so oil companies can reap 10 years years of profits? Sheeesh! Did people not realize what was going to happen if we elected two oil men as president and vice president?
Off-shore drilling isn’t a magic bullet. It isn’t going to fix the energy crisis, but it’s common sense to say that we need it. Look at a chart of gas prices for the last 60 years- when the offshore ban was passed oil had been pegged at $20 a barrel forever, and it stayed that way until around 2002. Partially Bush’s fault, partially OPEC’s fault, partially a product of the new global economy that saw massively increased demand with little to no expansion of supply.
Please, do some research about what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico. These oil reserves are already being tapped by the Chinese through Cuba and they are our national resources. We have oil to thank for our rise to power in the early 20th century, and while it is a dying industry we are all still driving on it and all of us still depend on it.
You despise ethanol. You despise oil. What am I supposed to use to drive to work? Organically-grown locally-raised carbon-negative soy foam? Tell me where I can buy a foam car. Tell me. Please. I’m tired of paying European prices for my gas.
The fact is that most of the anti-drilling movement is completely fine with other companies drilling. Would you ever protest Saudi Arabia drilling for more oil? Of course not. You don’t care about Mother Earth, all you want is a clean place to go for Spring Break. Never mind the fact that modern drilling techniques are non-invasive and wouldn’t pollute the beaches for a second.
i’m an evil selfish republican and i want to rape the whales and strangle polar bear babies! roar!
RJ - I’ll leave your many sweeping assumptions and generalizations alone and respond to one just thing you said:
Have you ever thought above living close to where you work? I can walk from my home to my office in less than 5 minutes - which means I have a lot less dependency on oil than someone who has a significant commute.
We Americans have gotten spoiled on a cheap-oil economy. We’re really going to have to rethink the way we order our lives to get past this crisis.
What is going on here is completely deceptive. By lifting these drilling bans, and the way the “possibilities” are discussed is a clear cut example of this administration blatantly misleading the public. Americans are so frustrated by the cost of gas, and we all know that is just the tip of the ice berg, the domino effect here is terrifying because people are now noticing that the cost of everything goes up with the rise in gasoline prices.
So in this position, the people start thinking, “why aren’t we off coast drilling?” “why aren’t we drilling in Alaska?” “why do we have these natural recourses that we are using?Gas is SO expensive”
Then good-ol-Dub lifts off shore drilling bans, and he tells the people that we could produce 10 years worth of America’s oil production. WOW! 10 years, we should have done this sooner….
But what has been keenly left out is that the production of this oil(if any) will not go directly to the American people, like they make it sound, no this is will get dumped on the open market, just like all other oil production. Because oil is not a nationalized resource, we can lift the bans and allow this ecologically damaging drill take place, but we can’t make the drillers sell it to us. So, maybe I missed it, but what good will this do?
So really, thanks Mr. President for giving the oil industry another pat on the back, under the guise of trying to help the people.