Ellsworth "spot on" regarding oil prices

Brad Ellsworth penned a great op-ed piece for The Lafayette Journal & Courier regarding oil prices and domestic drilling. An excerpt:

It seems the focus of the day is opening the entire Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to drilling. Some folks claim current restrictions in these areas are the only thing standing in the way between consumers and cheaper gas. It's a quick and easy fix, they say.

But here are some of the things they don't tell you. First, much of the OCS has already been opened up for leasing and domestic exploration, but in many cases, the oil companies have chosen not to significantly increase their production there. Instead they are buying up leases to these lands, but not drilling there.

Second, there's nothing quick about domestic drilling. Even if the drilling moratorium was lifted tomorrow and the oil companies chose to drill in the remaining areas, most experts believe it would be decades before consumers could see some relief.

That relief would be minimal at best -- about 75 cents per barrel, which is less than 4 cents per gallon at the pump -- and the savings aren't guaranteed to be passed along to American consumers.

Ellsworth is absolutely correct in his assessment of the situation, and his highlighting of the fact that oil companies already have authorization to drill in nearly all these areas. In ANWR alone, 95% of available resources are currently available for drilling. The laughable impact from further drilling in these areas is well-known outside of the mainstream media. It's refreshing to see a local politician so well informed - Perhaps we can have one next year in the THIRD congressional district.

Majority of Americans say "Protect ANWR"

Majority Say Drilling Would Provide No Relief at the Pump, New Poll Shows

Despite a multimillion-dollar campaign to convince lawmakers that they should allow drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, the American public is not buying the oil industry’s arguments, according to a new national poll conducted over the past week and released today. The poll found that 55% of the American public supports continued protection for the Arctic Refuge, while only 36% favor opening the Refuge to drilling. The Arctic Refuge, a pristine landscape that is home to 250 species including caribou, grizzly bears, musk oxen, threatened polar bears, and tens of thousands of migratory birds, is critical to the Gwich’in people who rely on the Refuge’s resources for their subsistence culture. The Refuge has long been the target of drilling advocates, and calls to drill have intensified in recent weeks as gas prices have climbed.

A large majority (74 percent) of those polled said that investing in new energy technology, renewable fuels, and more efficient automobiles is a better way to address energy prices and our long-term needs than is relying on more drilling for a limited amount of oil. According to the poll, only 35 percent of Americans believe that allowing oil companies to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will result in lower gas prices for American consumers. A majority (53 percent) believe drilling in the Refuge will have no effect on the price they pay at the gas pump. “Big Oil has spent millions trying to convince the American public that if only Congress would open the Arctic Refuge and other protected lands, gas prices would go down. It’s a myth the American people just aren’t buying,” said Cindy Shogan, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League.

A majority of Americans also believe that the pristine wilderness of the Arctic Refuge is far too valuable to risk the permanent damage that drilling would cause. Some 56 percent of those polled said Congress should not allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because “this is one of the most valuable wilderness areas left in the country and it would be permanently damaged by drilling.” According to William H. Meadows, President of The Wilderness Society, “protecting public lands and waters for future generations has been a cornerstone of our American values since the first national parks and wildlife refuges were created in the late 1800s. It is extremely gratifying to see that these national values remain strong in the face of the current energy challenges being faced by the American public,” Meadows said.

The poll also probed whether opening the Refuge made sense when the oil companies already have obtained the right to drill for oil and gas on millions of acres of federal land that they are not using. Today’s poll found that a large majority (68 percent) of Americans believe that there is no reason to open up more Alaskan wilderness to drilling given that oil companies have not drilled in the acres already available to them.