Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Something I learned in Econ
Second, immediate drilling to recover oil that is under U.S. control, namely in the Arctic and on the outer continental shelf. No one pretends that this fixes everything. But a million barrels a day from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is 5 percent of our consumption. In tight markets, that makes a crucial difference.
We will always need some oil. And the more of it that is ours, the better. It is tautological that nothing more directly reduces dependence on foreign oil than substituting domestic for foreign production. Yet ANWR is now so politically dead that the president did not even mention it in the State of the Union or in his energy address the next day.
Actually, the more domestic oil you consume, the more dependent you are on foreign oil in the long term. Because you want the foreigners to run out of oil before you do. That's a neat little result you get when you turn the 'ole brain into consequence mode.
