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Off-Shore Drilling And The Economy: It's Decision Time

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By JOHN NASH

Of Cabbages and Kings

Published: June 25, 2008

It's unusually difficult to know what's right or wrong about drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, or at on-shore locations in, say, Alaska. "Difficult" because our dedicated, morally upright, conscionable politicians and news outlet editors are evenly divided on the question, which means that around half of them are either shockingly uninformed, unable to reach a logical conclusion based on available information, just plain ignorant and incompetent or some mix thereof.
Those opposed to the proposed drilling seem to be basing specious arguments on three points: There's unacceptable risk to the environment; such drilling won't cause a reduction in the price of oil for at least a decade, so what's the use?; and anyway, high prices are really the government's fault, so could be quickly corrected through spasmodic legislation.
Our feckless Sen. Bill Nelson is a sorry example of that latter excuse for our own errors and misconduct. We want government to give us everything, from economic security to free medical care; we also like to use them as scapegoats for any and all of the problems we actually create through our own carelessness or ignorance. In recent days, we've blamed watering restrictions on government's failure to properly manage the water supply; now we enjoy deflecting attention from our own misuse of energy (particularly gasoline) by jabbering about "evil oil speculators, which government should rush to control."
Sure, investors speculating on a possible future rise in oil prices can cause a small rise in the cost of gasoline, but the real culprit is the age-old principle of supply and demand. For the government to single out oil speculators for restrictive/punitive legal action — as Sen. Nelson thoughtlessly, irresponsibly or unethically advocates — makes no sense. If financial speculation is that bad, then shouldn't our incompetent and corrupt governments also take action against those who speculate on the prices of such things as wheat, corn, pork and real estate, which include even those of us who have bought, sold and traded homes hoping to benefit financially from appreciation? Of course not: Such "speculation" is a fundamental facet of our vital, "free enterprise" system.
The basic reason that gasoline prices are soaring is the U.S. demands far more oil than we produce ourselves, and thus must pay the price asked by those external sources. The only reasonable course of action is for us to use less — especially gasoline — and produce more from our own wells. But tragically misguided, or incredibly ignorant, politicians and news media have continuously resisted attempts to increase our production of oil, while most of us have gone blithely along, wasting gasoline without a thought about eventual consequences.
Had we started drilling for vast, untapped reserves of oil 10 years ago — when it had already been proposed many times — our current reliance on foreign oil could be less than half of what it is — and the price of gasoline could be well under $2 a gallon. But zealous, thoughtless, tree-huggers and politically ambitious, amoral politicians have managed to thwart all such necessary steps.
For example, one, supposedly adequately educated newspaper editor recently warned of Florida beaches littered with rusty metal and gobs of sticky oil if we permit off-shore drilling closer to our west coast. As support for his dire predictions, he invoked consideration of some ancient oil rig disaster, way down in Mexican waters, which eventually resulted in oil and debris being washed up on Texas beaches.
Well, whether we drill closer to Florida than we've been doing, others, such as the Cubans — with contracts benefiting the Chinese — will continue to drill in the Gulf and closer to Florida than our own companies are allowed to do. Ten years from today, we could thus be buying oil from Cuba and China, along with other friendly nations, such as Mexico, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, while oil globs on our beaches would be from Chinese wells.
We also should already be pumping oil from huge untapped supplies in northern Alaska, but those same crusading environmentalists and reckless politicians have dangerously blocked any such action. There appears to be little or no substantial reason for their alarm. Of course, there's a remote possibility that herds of caribou could be adversely affected, but the potential benefits to our nation far outweigh any such results.
The area in contention is less than 8 percent of the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR). In fact, that area is about a third the size of out smallest state. It is conservatively estimated that exploration, drilling and production of oil from ANWR would provide around 500,000 new jobs, and, in time, significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil and the $35 million/hour we now send out of the country to pay for it; thereby also reducing our demand for foreign oil, thus causing its price to fall.
Yes, it may take 10 years to begin to reap the great benefits of drilling in ANWR and in increased off-shore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. But, surely, starting today, to solve tomorrow's even larger problems with oil supply, is much better than doing nothing, solely because the proposed, reasonable action won't provide immediate relief at the gas pump or for irrational fear of beach pollution or inconvenienced wildlife.
You likely agree that some action now is better than setting the stage for $12 a gallon at the gas pump; living with an associated, annual inflation rate of more than 10 percent; being unable to heat our homes in winter; losing even more jobs and having our national security further jeopardized?
If we continue to moan and wail about what the continual escalation of oil prices is doing to us, but choose to do nothing to find alternative sources, the picture, in that same 10 years, may be too awful to describe — even if Florida's beaches have never been spotted with a bit of oil nor a single caribou forced to detour from its traditional, migration path.
Of course, such exploration, with its seemingly distant benefit, is hardly the only action needed to attempt to combat the destructive impact of escalating oil prices on our nation. We must all work together to change the way we live, so as to use less energy.
Perhaps if we today add taxes raising the price of vehicle fuel to $10, most of us would begin immediately to conserve and to support the vitally needed new drilling. Without conservation and rapidly increased use of new wells, our nation may file for bankruptcy before those often mentioned "10 years" are here.
It's decision time!

John Nash is a widely experienced journalist and photographer, who's currently based in Florida. He welcomes rational comment to him at john@have-eye.com.

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