Let the Real Debate on Offshore Drilling Begin
Posted by:
Rich Hannigan
Date: 7/3/2008 11:18 am
I don’t know about you, but I’m still waiting.
Nearly two weeks ago, President Bush echoed John McCain's call to end our nation's moratorium on offshore drilling as a solution to high gas prices.
With our country hurtling toward a crossroads on energy policy, President Bush and Senator McCain have made their choice clear: the cure to our nation’s addiction to oil is . . . wait for it . . . more oil!
What an opportunity to jump-start the national discussion about energy policy! What an opportunity to present a clear and compelling case for a different path toward a different future!
Instead, Democratic Party leaders and other well-meaning progressive voices have pointed out that it takes a long time to develop new offshore drilling wells. They’ve explained that even if these wells are developed, the impact on prices is likely to be small. They’ve warned that there’s no way to prevent the oil that’s drilled from leaving the U.S. And they’ve noted that the oil companies are already sitting on 68 million acres of federal land and water where they could drill right now.
All of which is true as far as it goes. But is this really the best we can do? Is this the real debate our country should be having about energy right now, with the public’s attention riveted on the problem in a way that it hasn’t been since the days of the OPEC embargo?
Or are we letting the oil companies and their friends in Washington frame the debate in a manner that ignores the real problem?
I’m waiting to hear someone on our side explain that the high price of gas isn’t the problem; it’s a symptom, along with our increasingly fraught relationship with the rest of the world and the degradation of our land, air, water and climate, of our dependence on oil.
I’m longing to hear someone argue that increasing our dependence on oil – even if we get our fix via domestic supplies– is like Thelma and Louise hitting the accelerator with the cliff just a few hundred yards away.
I’m dying to hear someone point out that the moment of “peak oil” is getting closer every day, and exploiting every last drop of our nation’s offshore reserves might forestall this day of reckoning by a few years, at best.
I’d love to hear someone remind people that burning all that offshore oil will hasten our approach to the tipping point when climate change accelerates and becomes irreversible.
And I wouldn’t mind finding someone brave enough to ask how long the rest of the world will stand for an America that comprises 5 percent or so of the world’s population and consumes about 25 percent of the world’s fossil fuels.
If even some of what the experts are predicting comes true, paying $4 for a gallon of gas will be the least of our problems.
On the flip side, solving these problems could be our nation’s salvation. We can reinvigorate our economy through an Apollo-style program to promote conservation, energy efficiency, clean, renewable power, clean cars, modernized public transit systems, and smart growth. We can start leading the global effort to solve the global climate crisis. We can restore our standing in the world by offering the world a new model of sustainable development.
None of it will happen if progressives get stuck in a stale debate about whether offshore drilling will or will not lower gas prices. We have a chance to ignite this debate, to perform a real service to our kids and grandkids, to seize our moment in history to tackle what could be our generation’s most important challenge.
And if we do, one day, when a gallon of gas hits $10, most Americans will say, “Who cares? I drive an electric car when I don’t take the train or walk, and my house generates more electricity than I use. Whatever happened to OPEC anyway?”
If you’ve seen a good blog or other piece that effectively reframes the debate around offshore drilling, send it our way. We’ll do whatever we can to promote it, starting with posting it on our own Web site.
Nearly two weeks ago, President Bush echoed John McCain's call to end our nation's moratorium on offshore drilling as a solution to high gas prices.
With our country hurtling toward a crossroads on energy policy, President Bush and Senator McCain have made their choice clear: the cure to our nation’s addiction to oil is . . . wait for it . . . more oil!
What an opportunity to jump-start the national discussion about energy policy! What an opportunity to present a clear and compelling case for a different path toward a different future!
Instead, Democratic Party leaders and other well-meaning progressive voices have pointed out that it takes a long time to develop new offshore drilling wells. They’ve explained that even if these wells are developed, the impact on prices is likely to be small. They’ve warned that there’s no way to prevent the oil that’s drilled from leaving the U.S. And they’ve noted that the oil companies are already sitting on 68 million acres of federal land and water where they could drill right now.
All of which is true as far as it goes. But is this really the best we can do? Is this the real debate our country should be having about energy right now, with the public’s attention riveted on the problem in a way that it hasn’t been since the days of the OPEC embargo?
Or are we letting the oil companies and their friends in Washington frame the debate in a manner that ignores the real problem?
I’m waiting to hear someone on our side explain that the high price of gas isn’t the problem; it’s a symptom, along with our increasingly fraught relationship with the rest of the world and the degradation of our land, air, water and climate, of our dependence on oil.
I’m longing to hear someone argue that increasing our dependence on oil – even if we get our fix via domestic supplies– is like Thelma and Louise hitting the accelerator with the cliff just a few hundred yards away.
I’m dying to hear someone point out that the moment of “peak oil” is getting closer every day, and exploiting every last drop of our nation’s offshore reserves might forestall this day of reckoning by a few years, at best.
I’d love to hear someone remind people that burning all that offshore oil will hasten our approach to the tipping point when climate change accelerates and becomes irreversible.
And I wouldn’t mind finding someone brave enough to ask how long the rest of the world will stand for an America that comprises 5 percent or so of the world’s population and consumes about 25 percent of the world’s fossil fuels.
If even some of what the experts are predicting comes true, paying $4 for a gallon of gas will be the least of our problems.
On the flip side, solving these problems could be our nation’s salvation. We can reinvigorate our economy through an Apollo-style program to promote conservation, energy efficiency, clean, renewable power, clean cars, modernized public transit systems, and smart growth. We can start leading the global effort to solve the global climate crisis. We can restore our standing in the world by offering the world a new model of sustainable development.
None of it will happen if progressives get stuck in a stale debate about whether offshore drilling will or will not lower gas prices. We have a chance to ignite this debate, to perform a real service to our kids and grandkids, to seize our moment in history to tackle what could be our generation’s most important challenge.
And if we do, one day, when a gallon of gas hits $10, most Americans will say, “Who cares? I drive an electric car when I don’t take the train or walk, and my house generates more electricity than I use. Whatever happened to OPEC anyway?”
If you’ve seen a good blog or other piece that effectively reframes the debate around offshore drilling, send it our way. We’ll do whatever we can to promote it, starting with posting it on our own Web site.
