Lifting Ban Wouldn’t Be Immediate Fix for Oil
Ben Casselman explains for the Wall Street Journal that ‘[a]s politicians debate whether to open federal offshore waters to oil and natural-gas drilling, there is agreement on at least one point: It isn’t a short-term fix. If the bans were lifted tomorrow, it would be at least seven years — and likely as long as a decade — before the first oil began to flow off the coasts of Florida, California and the eastern seaboard.’
“Is it going to happen overnight? No,” said Dan Naatz, vice president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. “Is it going to solve all of our nation’s energy problems? No.”
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Rasmussen ( http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/62_agree_with_mccain_on_need_for_offshore_drilling ):
As John McCain ratchets up the debate in favor of offshore drilling to help offset high gas prices, 62% of Americans agree such drilling should be allowed. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that only 27% take Barack Obama’s position against it.
In other news:
Rasmussen ( http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/56_want_nafta_renegotiated_americans_divided_on_free_trade ):
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken Monday night finds that 56% of voters support renegotiation while 39% say U.S. free trade agreements in general have directly impacted their families. Only 16% of respondents favor NAFTA – a pact which came into being in 1994 and lowers nearly all trade barriers between the U.S., Canada and Mexico — as is, with 28% undecided.
At the same time, over half (54%) believe free trade agreements take jobs away from Americans, while only 23% believe U.S. jobs are created. Ten percent (10%) say neither, and 13% aren’t sure.
Of course the flip side is when some dufus in Israel says that its inevitable that they will hit Iran, no mention of when, the price of oil jumps $10 in two days. The price of oil refects what traders think is going to happen in the future.
Tonto makes a great point.. if we could somehow increase our output (by drilling) 25% in the next few years, all the gains could be erased with speculation of war, disaster or anything else. The fact is, we’re not drilling ourselves out of this mess.. the talking heads tell us otherwise. What the talking heads never mention is the fact that oil is bought with very weak US dollars. Our energy dept. secretary is still spewing the same drilling rhetoric..while the Saudi’s tell us the price is high because of speculation and a weak dollar. Personally, I can’t believe a word coming out of Washington.