Why Offshore Drilling is Not the Answer

So, now that gas is $4 a gallon, President Bush is going to Do Something About It. He doesn't have to give a hoot in hell about his approval ratings- after all, he isn't running for reelection. But other Republicans are, and John McCain is aiming to succeed Bush. So Mr. President has to get in on the solution to high fuel prices.

Unfortunately, they have taken the wrong path.

The Republican solution: "Let's drill in ANWR! Let's open up the continental shelf! Say goodbye to those oil shales out west!" In other words, we're going to alleviate the effects of our addiction to oil with…more oil. That's comparable to…say, treating a hangover with more alcohol. In the short term, it might help, but in the end, you still get a massive headache.

Of course, this is supposed to be accompanied by a lot of research into alternative fuels and energies. But seriously, who believes that commitment? Who shot down Jimmy Carter's energy plan? The Republicans. Having said that, they do have some ideas for what alternative energies might be in our future. Their idea of an alternative fuel: uranium.

The Republicans (and especially John McCain) have staked their alternative energy plan on nuclear power plants. McCain himself has called for the construction of 45 new nuclear power plants. Will that do anything to help us within the next few years? Uh…nope. Not only would it take years to construct these reactors, each reactor would cost billions of dollars. The reason that no one has built any civilian nuclear reactors since 1979 isn't so much the bureaucratic red tape, and more so the fact that the things are damn expensive.

As to the title of this post, let me add this. Besides the fact that fueling (no irony intended) an addiction is not a long term answer, offshore drilling would not help us today. If the government lifted the ban on offshore drilling and opened ANWR to oil companies, it would take at least a decade to begin production. For one thing, all of the ships necessary for offshore drilling are booked solid. More are on the way, but they take time to make. And even once the wells began producing, the effect that they would have on oil prices (and thus gas prices) would be negligible. For one thing, all of the oil produced by these wells would go on the open market, subject to market prices. The idea that American-produced oil would cost less for us is rather absurd. Furthermore, there isn't enough oil in ANWR and the continental shelf to significantly decrease the price of oil.

It's a pointless and wasteful boondoggle.