Save the Environment: Drill, Baby, Drill

NY Times ^ | September 15, 2008 | ROBERT HAHN and PETER PASSELL

[neverdem]

Op-Ed Contributor

THE audience’s mantra at the Republican National Convention — “drill, baby, drill” — reflected deep frustration with Washington’s decision to lock down tens of billions of barrels of oil under American territory in an era of $4-a-gallon gasoline. Whatever the merits of his argument, Barack Obama’s response that “drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution” won’t make the sting go away as long as it costs $100 to fill the tank of a pickup truck.

The crux of the matter is how accelerated drilling would affect gas prices, now and in the long term. And the conclusions of our latest research aren’t likely to please true believers on either side. We found that full-speed-ahead exploitation of the restricted oil reserves would lower prices at the pump by a few cents at most. Nonetheless, it’s equally clear that the failure to develop these oil resources would cost the state and federal governments hundreds of billions of dollars in royalties and taxes. It would also, paradoxically, pass up an opportunity for a grand bipartisan bargain — going far beyond the deal to open up some coastal drilling that Congress is expected to vote on this week — that could preserve or restore huge swaths of wilderness that are a top priority of serious environmentalists.

Our projections are based on government estimates that some seven billion barrels of oil could be extracted from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and a whopping 11 billion barrels could be had from the restricted offshore sites. That translates into an extra million barrels a day in the year 2025 — one-sixth of the total projected domestic output.

A big deal, right? Not in the context of the current political debate...

[Bush Revolution]

Let me read that again......The NYTIMES is publishing this?

[Gilbo_3]

exploitation of the restricted oil reserves would lower prices at the pump by a few cents at most. Nonetheless, it’s equally clear that the failure to develop these oil resources would cost the state and federal governments hundreds of billions of dollars in royalties and taxes

...pennies vs HUNDREDS oF BILLIONS in TAXES...

yeah it is the slimes alright...

[thackney]

some seven billion barrels of oil could be extracted from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Understated, opening up the ANWR coastal plain would also give access to the Native Lands unreachable except through ANWR and the State owned waters up to 3 miles offshore.

The USGS ANWR estimate includes them because both already want to drill but cannot be reasonably reached because of ANWR.

The mean estimate of oil that would become available opening ANWR is 10.4 billion barrels and up to 16 billion.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 1002 Area,
Petroleum Assessment, 1998, Including Economic Analysis
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0028-01/fs-0028-01.pdf

[neverdem]

Conservancy Buys Large Slice of Adirondack Land