Friday 19 September 2008

"Drill Baby Drill" is a short sighted 4 year bandaid.

During my visit to the US over the past three weeks, the GOP Party line of "Drill Baby Drill" has again and again reached media headlines and put Republican supporters into a frenzy. Yes, there is oil off the US coastlines and in the protected wilderness range of Alaska.

But is the time, money, and known risks to the aquatic, the atmospheric, and the untouched land environments really worth it?

There are many energy alternatives to further oil extraction from high risk ecological zones.

Renewable energy technologies and overall energy conservation measures are but two now cost effective avenues that need to be considered for a large scale implementation.

What will the "drill baby drill" approach give US citizens? At the very best, 4 and a half years of energy supply. Just over one presidential term.

Consider the facts:
The US currently consumes over 20,730,000 barrels of oil per day (7.57 Billion barrels per year)
The Interior Department estimates that there is still 18 Billion barrels of oil offshore and the US Geological Survey estimates 5.7 to 16 Billion barrels is buried in the Alaskan wilderness.

Best case scenario (assuming US oil consumption remains stable): Four years six months.

Worst case scenario (same stable consumption rate): Three years and six weeks.

The United States needs a real solution to energy security issues and "drill baby drill" is not it.

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