McCain's views on offshore drilling:
"I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use," he said on Tuesday, "as a matter of fairness to the American people, and a matter of duty for our government, we must deal with the here and now, and assure affordable fuel for America by increasing domestic production."
The following diary was originally posted at Upon the Gears, a political blog.
You’ve probably heard some arguments like these lately. It’s sad, but many, many Americans still believe that drilling offshore is the best solution to the gas crisis. Unfortunately, those of us who disagree are not doing ourselves justice with our arguments.
Our favorite argument has to be the "time argument". We like to tell supporters of offshore drilling that the oil they are searching for will not hit gas pumps for years, maybe even a decade. Although this is probably true, it is fairly easy to see how this argument has holes in it. After all, all a pro-driller has to do is call the drilling plan a long-term solution, one that will still offer relief from high gas prices and an end to the dependence on foreign oil.
We would be much better off ignoring the time factor altogether and instead offering some simple math.
It has been estimated that if the banned areas of the coast of Florida and California were opened for drilling, it would eventually produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day. This may seem like a lot, but we must also take into account the fact that the US consumes over 20 million barrels in a day, meaning that drilling would only provide an extra 1.25%.
But we’re not finished. What far too many people assume is that all of the oil that we find offshore belongs to the US. This is not the case. Oil is traded on the world market, and since the US is nowhere near nationalizing its oil production, ending the ban on drilling would simply allow any oil company to drill offshore, American or not.
As of 2006, the world consumed 84.6 million barrels of oil per day. By 2015, this number is expected to rise to 96.1 million. So, it is difficult to fathom how 250,000 barrels will manage to put even the slightest dent in world oil prices.
There’s your argument, everybody. Money talks.