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TechnographDrilling not quick, not a fix
By Daily Illini Editorial Board
Posted: 6/24/08 Section: Editorials
As gas prices creep higher, so too does the rhetoric from our political leaders. The problem is that the buzzed-about solution this week - offshore drilling - is just pie in the sky, according to experts.
In his 2006 State of the Union address, President Bush flatly stated, "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology." He later mentioned important goals about investing in alternative energies including ethanol, clean coal and nuclear plants and expansion of solar and wind energy production.
Strangely absent from the list? Offshore drilling.
But in a speech last week, John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, said that his drilling plan would "be very helpful in the short-term resolving our energy crisis."
Reality, as is usually the case in the energy debate, suggests otherwise.
According to most independent analyses, the benefits from coastal drilling the country could possibly see will not be realized for 10 years or more if the decades-old ban was lifted immediately.
One CNN report highlights that oil companies are not even close to fully utilizing the lands they have access to now. The sheer amount of money and manpower it takes to gauge how much potential these areas have now is nothing compared to the difficulties of deep-sea exploration. The truth is, few people really have a solid idea of how much impact more exploration will have, especially considering skyrocketing global demand and a leveling off of oil production around the world.
If America is indeed addicted to oil, as the president says, then anyone should be able to recognize that a sudden eagerness to drill our way out of our problems is not just a fix in the drug sense of the word but not even a particularly quick one.
In his 2006 State of the Union address, President Bush flatly stated, "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology." He later mentioned important goals about investing in alternative energies including ethanol, clean coal and nuclear plants and expansion of solar and wind energy production.
Strangely absent from the list? Offshore drilling.
But in a speech last week, John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, said that his drilling plan would "be very helpful in the short-term resolving our energy crisis."
Reality, as is usually the case in the energy debate, suggests otherwise.
According to most independent analyses, the benefits from coastal drilling the country could possibly see will not be realized for 10 years or more if the decades-old ban was lifted immediately.
One CNN report highlights that oil companies are not even close to fully utilizing the lands they have access to now. The sheer amount of money and manpower it takes to gauge how much potential these areas have now is nothing compared to the difficulties of deep-sea exploration. The truth is, few people really have a solid idea of how much impact more exploration will have, especially considering skyrocketing global demand and a leveling off of oil production around the world.
If America is indeed addicted to oil, as the president says, then anyone should be able to recognize that a sudden eagerness to drill our way out of our problems is not just a fix in the drug sense of the word but not even a particularly quick one.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 5
Adult
posted 6/24/08 @ 1:20 AM CST
I understand D.I. freshmen and sophomores are neither particularly mature, not outstandingly bright. I encounter you on campus every day, and you can barely finish a four words sentence without sating "you know," "like," and "whatever". (Continued…)
Fred the Duck
posted 6/24/08 @ 2:36 PM CST
The problem with saying that we won't see any benefit to drilling offshore until 2018 is that it ignores the fact that anyone talking about drilling offshore (or in ANWR, for that matter) were told in 1998 that we wouldn't see any benefit until 2008 - which sure seemed like a long way away back then. (Continued…)
Adult
posted 6/24/08 @ 8:47 PM CST
Matt dear, I don't have time to spend on your feeling insulted on the behalf of the D.I. undergrads playing in the sand as journalists. I trust that both you and them will survive this horrendous experience. (Continued…)
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