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Drilling down on offshore drilling

Posted on August 28, 2008August 28, 2008 by Staff

Grady McCallie

If polls are to be believed, a segment of the public has recently swung from opposing offshore oil drilling to seeing it as a plausible response to America’s energy problems. One possible answer, of course, is that these particular polls aren’t to be believed. For example, one survey asked, “Are you worried about gas prices?” (most answer “yes,” of course) then, “Should we drill to lower gas prices?” — rather than, “Should we drill even though it almost certainly won’t lower gas prices?,” which, though factual, would probably have yielded a very different response.

Let’s assume, though, that the poll numbers aren’t merely a result of how the question is asked. Let’s say that many Americans, faced with high gas prices, are in fact more inclined to support more offshore drilling. If you’re not cynical about public competence — if you think people usually have good reasons for what we believe, even when we’re wrong – this is a puzzle, because increasing offshore drilling isn’t a rational response to our energy issues.

Our energy problems can be defined in a number of ways: high gas prices, excessive dependence on foreign oil, the danger that limited energy supplies could constrain our economy, the threat our reliance on fossil fuels poses to the global environment. Offshore oil drilling doesn’t help with any of these. The Energy Information Administration has stated clearly that no oil from expanded offshore drilling would flow in the next 10 years, and even at peak production, sometime after 2030, it would not have a meaningful impact on supply or prices. The amount of gas available offshore would not free us from dependence on overseas fuel. Whether the gas we burn comes from our own continental shelf or from somewhere else around the world, it will be equally destructive of the global climate. Based on the facts alone, offshore drilling isn’t a solution to any of our energy problems.

Yet, offshore drilling makes enough intuitive sense to outweigh the facts, at least for parts of the public. Consider a pop-culture example. In late July, John McCain ran a campaign ad that compared Barack Obama to Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton. In response, Hilton released a tongue-in-cheek ad of her own in which she presented herself as a candidate and thanked McCain for his endorsement. To show her policy chops, Hilton offered this faux energy policy: “Let’s drill now, to tide us over for a couple decades until our investments in renewable energy start to pay off.”

What’s important here is not whether Hilton believes this, but that it’s plausible enough to carry the punch line: This celebrity is more in touch with real issues than the candidates. Except that it shouldn’t seem plausible, since, based on the facts, tiding us over is exactly what drilling can’t do. If drilling isn’t about the facts, what’s it about?

In a world where we are bombarded with too much information to process piece by piece, most of us rely on tropes — familiar patterns or images — to decide what we think and to sift the crucial details from the mundane. If you listen to the politicians and pundits who support drilling, they are invoking the same tropes: act now, think later. We’ve been talking too long; it’s time to act. The oil is just sitting there, deep underground, going to waste; if it’s there, we ought to use it.

In our busy society, these messages work on a couple of levels. First, they provide a simple, digestible answer: drill now. Never mind that it’s not a defensible answer to any of our actual questions. On a second level, the messages reinforce the answer by suggesting that you shouldn’t stop to ponder it – you too should act now, decide to support drilling, and move on.

Is there an alternative? Well, yes. On the policy level, the key to protecting ourselves from high gas prices, from dependence on foreign oil, even from climate change, is clear: We need greater efficiency and alternatives to gas. That’s not a single, simple solution; it’s a whole complex knot of ideas – better cars, better transit, better land-use planning – any one of which offers a greater return for our economy than expanded offshore drilling.

The personal level is harder. It’s been said that wisdom is recognizing the significant in the factual, but knowing that doesn’t make it easier to manage the sheer quantity of facts that flood our lives. One approach for a conscientious citizen: When it comes to public policy, ignore the tropes. Take one issue at a time and study it, setting others aside without shame until there’s time to think about them in turn. It’s not perfect, but with energy policy it leads to a clear conclusion: Drilling is not the answer.

Grady McCallie is the policy director for the N.C. Conservation Network.

6 thoughts on “Drilling down on offshore drilling”

  1. peter sterling says:
    August 28, 2008 at 9:12 am

    Your elected officials and the environmental movement have let you down, destroyed your life and sold out your Country….. and they don’t even know it! They certainly won’t admit it either.
    Advocates for the continued American Energy Embargo are in the direct or unwitting employ of OPEC and Russia. These people should be had up on charges of economic treason, if not fired for anti-American activities, or gross incompetence.
    To oppose developing America’s energy supplies immediately is Anti-American and akin to treason.
    American oil is all under an OPEC sponsored embargo compliments of County, State and Congress Embargos, which are also ruining the Santa Barbara air quality and beach environment.
    Santa Barbara’s beaches are heavily polluted with natural oil and tar seeps, which make the air unfit to breathe and the water unfit to swim in.
    Its not pristine beaches “environmentalists” and County officials are protecting, its only OPEC’s and big oil’s profits. These people are traitors to their enviro-supporters and traitors to America.

    Change is urgently needed, or the American economy will soon disintegrate.
    The United States is subsidizing a war against itself because of it’s American Energy Embargo resulting in a dependence on foreign oil, a resource largely controlled by its enemies and resulting in the death of Americans in Iraq and elsewhere every week. Readers all likely know someone who has lost a relative in Iraq.
    The OPEC-Russia-chavez oil cartel is not just looting the United States, but the whole world, and will accumulate over $1.5 trillion in net profits this year. At their current rate of take, OPEC-Russia will acquire enough cash to buy majority control of every leading company in the United States within six years. And you are voting into power the very American-energy-traitors who are doing this to you and your country.
    This is a direct threat to American independence. “It’s wrecking our economy,” and you are treacherously or stupidly helping them by embargoing American Energy supplies.
    OPEC loves American environmentalists, its making them rich. Big oil loves Enviro’s and Democrats too because it enables them to pump less oil for more money thus higher profits.
    The MMS oil lease bonus payments system, by charging billions in up-front lease bids, also keeps the smaller companies from getting access to local oil reserves and thus keeps the big-oil monopoly in place. And the Democrats encourages and applauds the process. Another reason why big oil loves the Democrats.
    This American Energy embargo is destroying the value of the dollar and wrecking our balance of trade. You are all going to go personally broke because of it. The Euro is already worth double because of your official’s and enviro’s energy and environmental stupidity, or perhaps it’s just plain Russia-OPEC funded energy-treason.

  2. Geophys55 says:
    August 29, 2008 at 3:50 am

    You have said exactly nothing except “Drlling is not the answer”. If you have an answer, then please trot it out. Our transportation sector is dependant on petroleum and will be for decades to come.
    Brazil has an answer. Offshore drilling is about to make them as rich as the Saudis. That could have been our future, too. But, you said no.

  3. Geophys55 says:
    August 29, 2008 at 5:29 pm

    Please consider the following:

    Countries that actively participate in offshore drilling and production

    United States* (only in: Gulf of Mexico (west), Alaska and Southern California (SIC!)

    Angola Argentina Australia* Azerbaijan
    Brunei Baku Brazil Canada*
    China* Congo Cameroon Denmark
    Egypt England* Equatorial Guinea Germany
    India Indonesia Ireland Iran
    Ivory Coast Japan Kazakhstan Korea
    Malaysia Mauritania Mexico* Myanmar
    Mozambique Madagascar New Zealand Norway*
    Nigeria* Philippines Scotland* Singapore
    South Africa Sweden Trinidad & Tobago Thailand
    Tunisia Turkey Uganda Vietnam
    Venezuela*

    *Major Players

    Wanabes: (those leasing, exploring or with plans to drill)

    Argentina Cuba Colombia Falkland Islands
    Iceland Peru Portugal

    Some may have fallen off or there may be wannabes who are now drilling, Also, check me on the major players – it is entirely possible that I have missed some or made some minors major.

  4. Jon says:
    September 2, 2008 at 6:20 am

    As a proponent of alternative energy and conservation, you must have heard plenty of frustrating arguments about how Alternative Energy Plan XYZ isn’t a 100% solution, so it should be completely ignored. Solar? The sun doesn’t shine all day! Wind? Well last Thursday it wasn’t windy, I’d hate to have missed my favorite TV show because there was no power! Blah.

    And yet here you are making the same tired argument.

    Let me make one point which you’ve missed (probably intentionally). Yes, the change in *total* oil production because of offshore drilling will be negligible. But why? It’s not because offshore drilling won’t result in huge amounts of oil — it’s because existing production is set to decrease in the coming decades.

    Take a look at the EIA graph about projected production with and without offshore drilling to see what I’m talking about.

  5. Pingback: Energy Crisis Information » - oil drilling
  6. Terri says:
    September 12, 2008 at 6:01 pm

    I’m extremely disappointed that Kay Hagan has decided to endorse offshore drilling. I’d prefer to see that investment placed in alternative (non-food based) fuels and/or technologies.

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