Map courtesy of PapaBear3625 from another thread, but I think it's useful here, to illustrate what ANWR drilling really means.
For more info, also check out:
Posted on 06/22/2008 12:24:46 PM PDT by FocusNexus
There is only one way to drive down the rising cost of gasoline for the long term: significantly increase the domestic supply of oil. We are the only nation in the world with access to known oil deposits on our own land or off our shores that essentially refuses to tap those resources. ... Instead of coming up with real solutions to our growing energy crisis, the Democrats in Congress would rather rail against the oil companies. But oil company executives don't set the price of oil - and taxing their companies more won't do anything to lower the cost of gasoline at the pump.
President Bush has now stepped into the fray by asking Congress to lift a ban on offshore drilling, remove prohibitions on leasing federal lands for oil shale exploration, and permit oil exploration in a small portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). ... His plan is not a short-term fix but one that could put the United States back in the business of taking care of our own needs rather than relying on supplies from unstable countries and avaricious cartels.
.....
The most controversial of President Bush's proposals is his plan to open up a tiny portion of ANWR to drilling. Even Sen. McCain has opposed oil exploration in ANWR - a position he should seriously reconsider given the current energy crisis. There are almost 20 million acres in ANWR, but only about 2,000 acres - 0.01 percent of the total - are needed for drilling. And this small territory could produce around 10 billion barrels of oil. Congress passed legislation to allow drilling in ANWR more than a decade ago, with bipartisan support, but President Clinton vetoed it. Had drilling started then, we'd likely be paying less at the pump today.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Map courtesy of PapaBear3625 from another thread, but I think it's useful here, to illustrate what ANWR drilling really means.
For more info, also check out:
Yeah, but so what if an entire nation, some of which have never seen the ocean, have to pay triple what should be the cost of gasoline, it will mess up the oceanic view!!
Can’t have that.
And Nuke our way out of it.
Could just be me, but your link doesn’t work.
Drilling domestically and nuclear energy could make us energy independent in the next few years. If we don’t do it now, things will get infinitely worse. You are right, that the lack of refineries is also part of the problem and we should start building more of those also.
The French started to build nuclear reactors during the oil crisis in the 70-s and now get 80% of their energy from nuclear. They have around 58 reactors.
Most especially note that the ANWR field is around 80 miles from the Trans Alaska Pipeline and the existing Prudhoe Bay fields, which means that transporting the oil to market would be easy. They could lay the pipeline leg to ANWR before the drilling was finished
Ah! Ah! Ah! Bad way to start an article. She must not have gotten the message that the Democrat congress has outlawed logic and common sense. They'll be coming to lock her up shortly, or perhaps they'll just shut off her ability to communicate once they start "regulating" the internet.
The first thing that should be done is build an island on the Horseshoe kelp 7 miles off Long Beach which is only 43 feet deep and still has oil coming to the surface constantly even after 40+ years of operation of the Long Beach oil island and Seal Beach platform.
The island could be built in a couple of months and drilling started then.
sure it is. make russia a democracy.
Rather than think 'refine' think 'manufacture'. Liquid fuel factories in the form of coal to liquid plants. This bypasses the oil resource and uses the coal resource.
Not an expert but I propose this question: If refining is such an issue, and I know it is partly to blame, why was oil so low for so many years? I don’t think, and maybe I am wrong, that simply increasing refining capacity will change the cost of wholesale crude.
Its oil-soluble.
We absolutely can drill our way out of this mess but we must begin. Let US companies explore, produce, and manufacture oil products.
We cannot conserve, regulate, tax, sue, nationalize, windfarm, solar panel, electric car, our way out of this energy crisis. We must produce oil products. Every delay is another dollar funding our enemies and another loss to today's and tomorrow's national economy. Global Warming is another lie but not yet repeated enough to stick in the face of $4 gasoline.
There was a time where America was "Can Do" in the face of any challenge. The nanny state has made us soft. Let us pray that we are not too soft to recover that spirit.
There was an article in the Friday edition of the WSJ that completely debunks the Democrat talking points on the congressional obstruction of oil exploration/drilling.
I only get the dead tree version, so I don’t know if it’s on-line.
Although I agree that we need to build more nuclear power plants, I don't think that nuclear power is going to help us with the current crisis. We are currently facing a crisis in liquid fuels...the sort of things that fuel cars, trucks, locomotives, ships, airplanes and petrochemicals. Nuclear power only provides more electric power and does not power anything that is currently run on liquid fuel.
In 1973, when we faced our first oil crisis oil, 15% of our electric power was produced by burning oil. At that point, migrating from oil to something for electric power else was important. Now about 1% of our electric is from burning oil. So, although it is important to build nuclear power plants, its not urgent that we do so.
In general, I agree with you, but...we have to supplement drilling with some coal-to-liquids plants and oil shale.
The Bolshecrat point it that we must destroy the American economy for 20 years while the Bolshecrats provide union jobs building wild turbines in Ohio. (Though, I suspect China will have them cheaper in 10 years in a GE plant.)
I would like to offer a compromise. In exchange for drilling oil in ANWR, we make ANWR a wind farm. It is not like anybody will ever see it and it is not a place where NIMBY would prevail.
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