“It will take ten years to pump more oil”
Some clarity on the issue here. We certainly need to move toward alternative energy, but in the meantime we need to keep prices low so that the economy will not continue to suffer. I am glad that Barack is starting to accept this argument instead of being beholden to the far left who are offering no immediate alternatives.
Filed under: Politics | Tagged: Alternative Energy
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Tariq: The Republicans are grasping at straws when they argue for drilling offshore and in ANWR. Your oil prices will continue to remain sky high until global demand goes down. Global supply has plateaued the past few years, and the pressure from the demand side has caused oil prices to skyrocket. Even if ANWR were to be opened, for example, the amount of oil there is a drop in the bucket compared to what’s demanded, and will do very little to offset oil prices. In a post I wrote this past June I quoted the Energy Information Adminstration (EIA; part of the DOE) whose own analysis showed that if ANWR were to be opened up today the price of oil would “At best, [fall] a mere $1.44 per barrel (in 2006 dollars) in 2027, nineteen years from now.” There is no short-term solution; in fact, the only solution is as I said before: global demand must fall.
Actually, the Republicans are winning the debate. I still think that we should work on BOTH sides. Work to bring down oil prices while working on alternative energy sources.
Oil prices have come down slightly just from the talk of doing something about this problem. Either way, it beats sitting on our hands and doing nothing
“Work to bring down oil prices while working on alternative energy sources. ”
Wasn’t that Paris Hilton’s solution? A hybrid of the old white haired guy’s and the change guy’s solution?
Actually, the Republicans are winning the debate.
They may be winning the debate, but that doesn’t mean it’s a wise idea. (Republicans won the “debate” on Iraq too.)
Oil prices have come down slightly just from the talk of doing something about this problem.
No, oil prices have gone down because the dollar has strengthened recently. There’s an inverse relationship between the strength/weakness of the dollar and all dollar-priced commodities, including oil, namely that the stronger the dollar becomes against other currencies, the lower the price of oil, and vice versa. The fundamentals underlying the price of oil didn’t change, the dollar did. There’s too little oil off-shore and up in Alaska to make a significant difference in the price of oil; besides, it’s not the oil in the ground that the price of oil measures, it’s the oil coming out of the ground that’s being priced. Any oil from drilling off-shore or in ANWR won’t actually come out of the ground until seven to ten years from now (at the earliest). The Republicans are only “winning” the debate because most Americans rely on “feel good” emotions and not on facts. The Republican suggestion to open up the off-shore and ANWR oil fields is disingenuous; there will be no immediate effect on the price of oil or gas today. They’re relying upon smoke and mirrors to razzle-dazzle the electorate (not for the first time).
Either way, it beats sitting on our hands and doing nothing
Who says “nothing” is being done? The Economist recently did a series of articles that discuss what’s currently being done in the development of a number of different alternative energy sources. But none of these will make a significant difference any time soon, and the oil off-shore and in ANWR is a mere drop in the bucket compared to what’s currently being demanded by the US economy. Far better, IMO, to leave the oil in the ground as a strategic reserve for a time when we’ll really need it.
In the ten years it would take for drilling to have an impact investment in alternative energy would have a greater impact. Big Oil is just lobbying for it’s own interest I am sure that has a lot to do with the “debate”.
This is a false (straw) argument on two accounts.
#1 - The Republicans are not arguing for an either/or thing. They are arguing for BOTH
#2 - The whole “ten years” thing is false and even Obama has begun to stop saying it will take that long