Should the US Drill for Oil?

[USS Redskins]

I don't think any amount of drilling can put OPEC out of business. No matter how much we drill, the OPEC companies will have more easily accessible oil, and cheaper labor, and they will be able to produce oil at a price competitive with ours. Maybe we won't have to buy much OPEC oil, but they will still be selling to China and India and Europe, and their business will be fine.

For example, we mine more coal than we use, and we export it to other countries, but that hasn't put coal mines out of business in South America or China. Being "independent" doesn't mean that the rest of the world goes bankrupt.

The only way we can really put OPEC out of business is to develop technologies that don't use oil at all, and sell those to other countries, so that nobody will need a lot of oil anymore. :2cents:

You are right, OPEC will always be in business, but if we have to rely less and less on them, the better imo...and drilling now will ensure a bit more independence in the coming years, while we can stil develop those new technologies. I think you have to do both.

[2006Skins]

Bump after oil fell another $5 a barrell today.

Plus Sen Nancy Pelosi was quoted as saying that she doesn't want to give in on drilling to lose a skirmish against the republicans on this issue. :doh:

[PleaseBlitz]

Didnt we just occupy a foreign country so that we wouldnt have to drill here in this country?

Yes, we should drill. Right outside of Fallujah.

[Duncan]

Same here. One oil spill would be a disaster for Florida's economy.

Do you think there might be a disaster if we don't drill? Have you noticed less tourists because plane tickets are more expensive and the family jaunt to Florida uses a bit of gas? Maybe the vacation money is also being eaten up by higher food prices. Just to clue you in the Florida economy is tied the the economy as a whole.

[Springfield]

Drill away. I'm all for it... anywhere!

[nonniey]

There is a big misconception on the dangers of oil spills. It is actually far more likely (by a massive margin) to get spills during transport than from drilling. Drilling offshore shortens the transport distance and thus will lead to fewer oil spills in the oceans (Just one of those common sense side effects that those opposed to drilling don't consider).

[bschurm]

I just don't understand how people can defend not drilling. I mean look, we should explore different types of energy. We should do what we can to utilize every energy option we can. BUT what the idealists don't seem to understand is that oil is and will be the most economical energy source for a long, long time.

I would love to see solar turbines off the coast of OC. I would love to see more Nuclear energy being used! Hell if they can make hybrids that will go 100 miles per gallon I would be happy as a pig in its own filth.

But right now and for the foreseable future oil, in whatever form we can get it is still vital and we should get it here. It puts money in our pockets.

Drill here, drill now!

[FanboyOf91]

There is a big misconception on the dangers of oil spills. It is actually far more likely (by a massive margin) to get spills during transport than from drilling. Drilling offshore shortens the transport distance and thus will lead to fewer oil spills in the oceans (Just one of those common sense side effects that those opposed to drilling don't consider).

That's comforting to know.

But it won't matter to the tourism industry. They depend on the "clean beaches" image to attract tourists. Having oil derricks offshore ruins that. It's also why Jeb Bush during his time as governor was against drilling and why our Republican senator Mel Martinez is against it, going so far as to point out part of the Gulf far away from Florida is already open to drilling.

[AAARedskin]

It is an ABSOLUTE EMBARRASSMENT that the United States of America has come to rely so heavily on foreign oil. We need drilling to start off-shore and in ALASKA. America also needs at least 2 dozen NUCLEAR power plants...hey, if the French can do it, so can we! Oil refineries also need to be built....such a national disgrace that none have been built in the past 30 years. Yeah, but not doing any of this, and by listening to the advice of KOOK ENVIRONMENTALISTS has gotten us to where we are today....

[btfoom]

Yes, I think we should drill for oil in the US as soon as possible.

It should be part of a five point plan, though.

1. Drill for oil to relieve short term oil prices (please don't talk about how long it takes to get from drilling to gas pumps. Oil works on a commodities/futures markets. Even threatening to drill brings down the current 'price' of oil/gas).

2. Nuclear Plants - we need to get away of the scare tactics of the '70s. Nuclear power is safe, efficient, and will reduce our use of coal/foreign oil dramatically.

3. Alternate Fuels for Vehicles - Have Government give tax credits/reduced taxes for companies that produce alternative fueled vehicles AND companies that offer accessible means to re-charge/refuel these vehicles. IMHO, the car companies could produce better cars fairly quickly, but we need the infrastructure to support them as well. I don't believe the government can do this nearly as quickly/well as the private sector.

4. Alternate Energy Sources - Have Government give tax credits/reduced taxes to companies that can produce local or wide scale energy generation using any source that we can grow/harness/use within our own country. We need to get self-sufficient with respect to energy. I don't care if it is oil from Alaska, Corn from Nebraska, Wind from Michigan, Sun from Arizona, or grass from my front yard, we need to stop paying other countries (especially those countries whose governments hate us) for our fuel.

5. Reduce Pollution (NOTE: This is not a 'global warming' item. I don't believe humans cause 'global warming, global change, acid rain, etc.' as there is not nearly enough data to support this, but that is for a different thread). I think we need to decrease the amount of smog and chemical pollution that we release into our countrie's air and water. We should NOT agree to meet other countries goals (see KYOTO, for example), but should just concentrate on making the US less polluted.

[Capt Rich Fla]

Same here. One oil spill would be a disaster for Florida's economy.

Hurricane Katrina: not 1 oil spill. Plenty of broken stuff, but no oil. I think they just about have that licked.

[Duncan]

It is an ABSOLUTE EMBARRASSMENT that the United States of America has come to rely so heavily on foreign oil. We need drilling to start off-shore and in ALASKA. America also needs at least 2 dozen NUCLEAR power plants...hey, if the French can do it, so can we! Oil refineries also need to be built....such a national disgrace that none have been built in the past 30 years. Yeah, but not doing any of this, and by listening to the advice of KOOK ENVIRONMENTALISTS has gotten us to where we are today....

The US has over 100 active nuclear power plants providing 20% of our electricity. I think if it was not a safe alternative we might have heard about an accident.

The leftists don't like nukes so the democrats don't support it.

We can't spoil a mile deep hole in the ground because there might be some important organism we haven't discovered. I would love to hear the rational for the position but don't hold your breath.

The reality is liberals love high gas prices and will do nothing to bring them down.

[twa]

That's comforting to know.

But it won't matter to the tourism industry. They depend on the "clean beaches" image to attract tourists. Having oil derricks offshore ruins that. It's also why Jeb Bush during his time as governor was against drilling and why our Republican senator Mel Martinez is against it, going so far as to point out part of the Gulf far away from Florida is already open to drilling.

Just how far out to sea can ya'll see?

Ya'll must have some good eyes,and lousy beaches if that is the concern

http://www.boatsafe.com/tools/horizon.htm

the horizon from 100 ft elevation is 13.5 miles

[Koolblue13]

Drill in the outtershelf: 10+ miles.

Steam that shale and sideways drill the bakken.

Drill in places that were more expensive before.

Build the refinaries.

1. Drill enough to erase the 700 billion deficit each year. keeping us beholden to(Saudi Arabia).

2. Then pull more out over the next 2 years and ONLY send it to China to wipe the trillion dollar debt.. rinse/repeat for all other IOU holders.

3. Wind stations all over, solar stations all over, refinaries on abandoned military posts.

4. Ford/Gm get a billion dollars to mass produce the winner of the 100mpg car competition going on, be it hybrid or electric or hydrogen for it to be under 25k and affordable to all. they can share it if the collaborate.

5. Larry's solar space beam of death.

Opening up new areas automatically increases income for the feds,with no money outlay....if developed the feds get a percentage of any oil/gas produced,along with employment,infrastructure and manufacturing gains.

You also cut the trade deficit and even reduce the need for the Strategic Oil Reserve(freeing millions of barrels of oil for sale )

As far as environmental?

We have the best technology and the strictest rules...No one is going to produce oil at less cost to the planet. :2cents:

[Ingtar]

We have to drill. There is no question about it.

Will it take years to realize any real price drops? Maybe. But why is everyone focused on the here and now? The vast majority of us are young enough that we will certainly be around to see how bad things could be in a decade if we do not take action.

Hybrids? Please. Current gas/electric hybrid models only really help increase fuel economy in city driving. Plus, what are we going to do with the big lithium ion batteries when they die around 100k miles? These batteries are not exactly environmentally friendly either. Another point people have not seemed to consider is that the battery pack runs about $3,000, so fuel savings are offset by the initial vehicle cost and the high maintenance costs down the road. Alternative fuels are the future, but we need to think about which ones we choose carefully or we will be in the same position somewhere down the road. This is not something that will happen overnight.

We also have to consider that oil is not only used for vehicles, so a new vehicle fuel only solves part of the problem. We will be using oil, and probably a good bit of it, for decades so we had better start planning for that now.

[cmorina69]

Nuclear Power plants, that our answer. France runs all most completely off of nuclear power.

As for drilling i don't have a problem with it but its only a short term solution.

[paige3girl]

My personal opinion is that we should drop some drills for two reasons. The first reason being that just the threat that the US is becoming less dependant on OPEC oil will drop the demand thus decreasing prices. The second being we have to got develop alternative fuel resources and I think this will also be a catalyst for that development.

[PeterMP]

The second being we have to got develop alternative fuel resources and I think this will also be a catalyst for that development.

How?

Any change in the rights to drill should be directly related to funds going to helping actually implement (not basic research) of alternative energy solutions.

[Destino]

Count me among the few that say absolutely not.

We wouldn't have reached the moon if someone had said "yeah but just getting to space is just as good". This is a time to focus on alternative fuels and viewing oil as a terrible habit that needs to be gotten rid of as soon as possible. I often compare it to a drug habit.

We are not going to see the oil addiction broken if we start investing in "solutions" that deliver us more oil in 7-10 years. These types of moves place alternatives as "plan B" and not as the national priority.

We are better off as a nation not relying on oil. Feel free to argue otherwise.

[Destino]

We also have to consider that oil is not only used for vehicles, so a new vehicle fuel only solves part of the problem. We will be using oil, and probably a good bit of it, for decades so we had better start planning for that now.

Google the percentages used for fuel.

Also I'm your age and I think oil in 10 years is a terrible future to look forward too.

[PeterMP]

I also want to come back to a number that I saw on here before (I think posted by twa). The oil companies have rights to drill on a large number of acres on which they are not drilling (I want to say millions).

How does giving them rights to drill more places change anything?

As far as I know, there is no evidence that the limits of where to drill on the US are actually limiting US oil output.

[2006Skins]

I also want to come back to a number that I saw on here before (I think posted by twa). The oil companies have rights to drill on a large number of acres on which they are not drilling (I want to say millions).

How does giving them rights to drill more places change anything?

As far as I know, there is no evidence that the limits of where to drill on the US are actually limiting US oil output.

They have roughly 58-68 million acres, the problem is they really haven't found an abundance of oil on this land, so speculation is they will let the lease expire.

Count me among the few that say absolutely not.

We wouldn't have reached the moon if someone had said "yeah but just getting to space is just as good". This is a time to focus on alternative fuels and viewing oil as a terrible habit that needs to be gotten rid of as soon as possible. I often compare it to a drug habit.

We are not going to see the oil addiction broken if we start investing in "solutions" that deliver us more oil in 7-10 years. These types of moves place alternatives as "plan B" and not as the national priority.

We are better off as a nation not relying on oil. Feel free to argue otherwise.

I agree we shouldn't rely on oil, but our economy can't handle $5 a gallon gas, with the potential (and likelihood) that the price will increase if we continue not to drill. I agree we need to look for alternatives, but our economy and country runs off oil for the moment, and we can't just sit on our hands for 10-20 years while we find alternative energy.

[Kilmer17]

Nahh. Let's not do anything.

All is well.

[JohnLockesGhost]

Should Tiger Woods mow his own yard?

[PeterMP]

They have roughly 58-68 million acres, the problem is they really haven't found an abundance of oil on this land, so speculation is they will let the lease expire.

Link?