What do you think about all this talk of eschewing the ban on US offshore drilling? Senator McCain, President Bush and many other Republican talking heads are touting this as the be-all, end-all to the current state of high fuel prices. Unfortunately, and, might I add, as is completely expected from such good friends of the oil industry, this plan is a complete joke.

Since it would take 10 or more years to bring only an additional few hundred thousand barrels a day, when the US consumes more than 20 million barrels on a daily basis, doesn't it make more sense to put that money into breaking our addiction? See a snippet of the government's EIA report here.

Speaking of jokes, Mr. Colbert catches this one just right...I'm going backyard drilling tomorrow!


To sell out our pristine national coastline in the hope of find more oil, to further feed an already unhealthy and uneconomic habit, is ludicrous. That doing this, while placing our coastal communities, fisheries and industry at risk of disastrous spillage, would only yield oil after 10-15 years of exploration, is irresponsible.

The topic of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) also comes up a lot too. It is estimated that ANWR contains only 3.2 billion barrels of oil, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, about 6 months worth in the US. This oil would not begin to reach the market for another 10 years; and it would take 50 years to extract the full amount. The last time I did math, 6 months of supply spread over 50 years of demand is literally a drop in the bucket.