barack obama
The Real Reason for High Gas Prices
Andy Sharpless is the CEO of Oceana; this post also appeared on Politico.
Why do we take terrible risks to drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere along our coasts?
Most people would say we drill to protect ourselves from big fluctuations in the price of a gallon of gas that are caused by the major upheavals in the Middle East. Look at this chart (data from the Energy Information Administration):
Their argument is that the more oil we can produce domestically, the lower the price we’ll pay at the pump. It’s not that they like the sight of oil wells off our beaches. The main reason they are doing so is they think it will save them money – especially as gas prices approached $4 a gallon recently.
This idea is not only intuitively appealing, it is repeatedly, and unambiguously, promoted by important government officials from both parties. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La) defended new legislation that would expand offshore oil drilling, saying “this bill would do more to lower gas prices at the pump than any other plan.” Sarah Palin criticized President Barack Obama, “His war on domestic oil and gas exploration and production has caused us pain at the pump.”
Join Us for the #oilchat Twitter Chat Tonight
When: Thursday, June 3, 2010 from 9:00 - 10:00pm EST
Where: On Twitter. If you do not have a Twitter account, please register at http://www.twitter.com. Follow the conversation by using the #oilchat Hashtag.
President Barack Obama goes one-on-one with Larry King tonight at 9pm eastern to talk about the oil spill, economic turmoil and war. What are your reactions or impressions to President Obama’s comments?
Jackie Savitz, Oceana’s Senior Campaign Director, Pollution Campaigns [@jackiesavitz] will be joining the conversation to answer your questions and reactions.
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