My View on Drilling for Oil

If we are ever to move away from our dependence from oil, the answers are not to be found in more drilling. The demand for oil is growing and the supply diminishing.

The debate over when the supply is depleted is whether it’s 10 years from now or 50? The only difference between the two is that we have room to make some decisions now without sacrificing too much of our “creature comforts.” The longer we wait to transition to some type of alternative fuel, the less options we will have. 

We must not fear such a transition to alternative energy. We should embrace these changes. Living more efficiently is just another way of being self-sufficient, and since when is that a bad thing? It would mean wasting less and using more of what we have, in a better way. 

Think of all that has happened in the past two years as a direct result of high gas prices – more carpooling, more people using public transportation, biking, buying more efficient cars and appliances; gardening at home, building more modest and efficient homes, shopping and eating locally more often…and so.

Think what else we could do in two more years if this trend continued with the support of our government? Al Gore’s speech of reducing our carbon foot print within 10 years could be achievable if the US government spent the same amount of money it did in the Iraq war in renewable and alternative energy! 

Yet, we live in a political year and despite the good things that have been done, the historic high of almost $140 a barrel for oil has has captured the attention of the media and caused lawmakers to revise their electoral prospects and created a renewed call for more drilling..’Drill here, drill now, drill everywhere!’  

In The Economist, “Twelve years after an infamous spill from a well off Santa Barbara in 1969, Congress barred the government from issuing new offshore leases anywhere but in the western Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. By the government’s own reckoning, there are some 18 billion barrels of oil to be discovered in the restricted areas — enough to supply all America’s needs for two-and-a-half years.”

None of the new oil would be available for public use for at least 10 years,. A recent article in US News & World Report, “What you have is a scarcity of resources,’ said Dory Stiles, investor relations manager for Murphy Oil Corp. ‘Companies are looking for more opportunities to explore.’”

The article goes on to say, that even if Congress were to open the entire Gulf for drilling, there still would be serious constraints to drilling such as a limited supply of equipment and labor.

Only a limited number of shipyards can build the $700 million platform rigs used for drilling and the current orders are going to Brazil, West Africa and Southeast Asia. It could take years just to get a new oil platform to even begin exploration.

Perhaps the 1969 oil disaster is a thing of the past, but for communities who rely on beach tourism, can we really afford to take that chance?

Katrina was a 1 in 100-year storm. How many times do we need to roll the dice before we start making the right decision and not just the easy one?

Tthe real issue is looking forward to the future and not to the past. If drilling is going to alleviate our oil problem for only two years, aren’t we losing site of the bigger picture?

We are dooming ourselves to having the same discussion in 2010 and every year we put off making the tough choices leaving ourselves fewer options as to what we can do. For example, Congress went on vacation and failed to vote on a bill that expires at the end of this year that would allow tax credits and incentives for solar, wind and other renewable energies. 

By not renewing this bill, jobs will be lost in these fields. More money needs to be spent to encourage more investment in these areas not less.

But who cares? Oil is getting cheaper again and all is well, right?

Lawmakers ridiculously claim the recent dip in oil prices is from their public push for more drilling. In fact, the dip in oil prices is a result of three recent things: U.S. talks with Iran (war avoided and so too, major oil disruption); U.S. oil reserves are higher than expected; and Ben Bernake suggested a recession is unavoidable and so the economy slowed down thus creating less demand for oil.

We need to do better and think positively. We need to demand more from ourselves as well as from those who represent us in public office.