Will drilling for oil significantly reduce our gas prices?

Both candidates seem to be against it. Question is, will drilling hurt the economy more than it will help it? I am actually a Republican, but somehow Republicans have started to believe drilling for oil is a conservative principle. Just because man kind is more important than the environment doesn't mean we should be proud to destroy the environment. The way I see it, energy independence should be our main principle. I don't believe the United States has enough oil to ensure energy independence, so alternative energies seem like the best solution. I should probably post this question under economics to get more objective responses, but I am going to try politics to get more responses. Hopefully this doesn't get my political party too mad. Oh and I don't advocate government funded research for alternative energies, I believe the free market will bring about a change in the next 15 years if we stay our current path. And nuclear power is great, however it doesn't cut it for cars.Will drilling for oil significantly reduce our gas prices?
Its supply and demand, supply is lower than demand so prices go up. If we had drilled in ANWR 11 years ago we would be using that oil now and prices would be lower by $10 - $30 dollars a barrel. Drilling is not the only answer but it solves some of the supply problem by making more oil available. We need more supply and not drilling for it is not rational. 61% of the oil in the oceans leaks naturally from the ocean floor as an environmentalist I want to drill the oil out of the ocean before it leaks into the ocean and pollutes it. Drilling it the anwer to prevent pollution of the oceansWill drilling for oil significantly reduce our gas prices?
McCain is for drilling, and in my opinion he's right. The ';environmental'; objections aren't based on any serioius science, it's just that environmentalists tend to be highly resentful of any form or energy (or any activity, for that matter) that makes a profit for large companies or that enables to people to live in what they regard as an excessively comfortable manner. But even though I agree that drilling should be done, the effect on oil prices will be zero in the short run, and very small in the long run.
the most good it would do would be to create some jobs, but it wouldn't reduce gas prices it would take a decade for anything to start happening and even then the oil companies would not use it right away they'd control the market until they could get oil as high as it could possibly go.


if you don't advocate government funded research on alternative fuel then how about at least tax breaks for private companies that do use this research?
i'm pretty liberal, and i agree with the first part of what you said. if we start drilling for oil in our own territory, it won't last us long or give us much energy independence considering the amount of oil our country consumes. it wouldn't significantly reduce our gas prices because we'd still have to get SOME oil from other parts of the world. we're better off finding some other energy resource.
No it won't but it will help in the long run. The thing is we have to start doing something besides waiting on alternate fuel sources to be developed and perfected. So as we add to the supply of oil we continue to research and develop.





And I continue to save up to convert to all electric.
It might have a minor impact on pump prices, but every barrel pumped domestically means that $136.00 has stayed in this country and not become part of the trade deficit. That in turn raises the value of the dollar which in turn reduces the price we pay for a barrel of oil.
y8es it will decrease gas prices now and later and i agree with the person who suggested the four day work/school week, also we need alternative energies such as hydrogen fuel cell
not today, but a long trip begins with the first step. you blather away and nobody reads all the blather. you are a typical sad case.
i agree with you but McCain does want to start drilling, Problem is though we wouldn't see any results for about 6 years. We need to look into renewable alternatives
Barack is a crazy man that thinks that the whole race of white people hate blacks!!! HE IS RACIST!!! HE WILL RAISE ALL GAS PRICES WITH HIS SHARTY GAS TAX! Vote for McCain everybody!
it's to stop the prices from going even higher into the future





if you can imagine $5 per gallon





hugs!
I'm with you...oil independence. It won't last forever and we might as well start now
I think the 4 day work and school week would make things a lot better!
Well first, why should the oil companies finance the research and development of alternative fuels. Isn't that like asking McDonald's to recommend a good pizza place? Shouldn't the ones who are so ';fired up'; about using alternative energies be the ones developing them?


Second, the vehicles being produced which run on alternative fuels are still WAY out of the affordability range of most Americans. That's why it's such a status symbol for the Hollywood-types. It takes a long time for ';state of the art'; stuff to filter down to the price range of the average citizen. While we are waiting for this to happen, we need to rid ourselves on Independence to foreign oil, and their prices.


Gas prices are set on speculation. So, prices will begin to fall when the drill bits touch the ground. Maybe not a lot, but it will at least be in the right direction.


I have NO problem with alternative fuels, but it's not gonna be available overnight.
No.





The best thing to do is exactly what was done in the seventies, radical legislation designed to reduce demand while increasing capital gains taxes on oil based speculation.





Reduce the speed limit to 55. Create 90% capital gains taxes on oil investments held less then 180 days and 75% on investments held less the 2 years. 0% taxes on capital gains held over two years.





Radical revisions to the CAFE standards with minimums on every vehicle sold. No more adding an extra inch of plastic to a Taurus to kick it up into a larger car status or calling a PT cruiser a ';truck'; and then averaging out the numbers.





And yes, nuclear power can cut it for cars using passive systems, thermo electric, etc. We could run slot car like rails on highways that allow charging while driving too. Algae is a better bet.
Not really. The estimates are it would save about six cents a gallon and we wouldn't see that savings until at least 2020. It's just a hot issue so politicians tend to try to dupe the public with empty quick fixes.





Looking at the future, it's actually better if we suck the other countries dry now, and have all those reserves for later.





Check out this article in the New York times:


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/opinio…
put yourself in the place of the guy with the oil. he sees a big effort by customers to get off his product. stepped up drilling and production in this country on our own land will get his attention .the liberal plan to use horse drawn transportation will work also . let's hope that this is the last time we get suckered by the mid east oil producers and speculators. we should have been drilling and refining more since they strangled us in the past.
oh really is mcCain against drilling? thats not what he told the oil execs in houston just the other day...


http://sierraclub.org/pressroom/releases…


dont believe the lies (from either side, but especially mccain)





Sen. McCain: “As for offshore drilling, it’s safe enough these days that not even Hurricanes Katrina and Rita could cause significant spillage from the battered rigs off the coasts of New Orleans and Houston.”


REALITY: According the Coast Guard , more than 7.1 million gallons of crude oil were spilled in at least nine major incidents and 35 smaller incidents as a direct result of Hurricane Katrina alone.





Sen. McCain: “Over time, we must shift our entire energy economy toward a sustainable mix of new and cleaner power sources. This will include some we use already, such as wind, solar, biofuels, and other sources yet to be invented”


REALITY: Senator McCain has consistently voted against requiring utilities to produce a certain percentage of our electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar, and biomass. He also refuses to support key incentives for clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency.





check the link for those of you that need your heads screwed on a wee bit tighter
The same argument holds true for both points of view. We are no where even close to being ready to implement alternative fuels as a viable option. So why all the resistance to doing both? Lets use what we have that will carry us for 70 years at least and start drilling while at the same time expand research into a truly workable solution that will satisfy all.


The fact is the Libs see high prices as the only way to force the change on the people. Again just like super delegates its the ';elite '; forcing the rest of us to do what they see as best.
The overall numbers? We consume 22 million barrels of oil per day. Domestic production is 5.1 million. We have to import the other 17 million.


That means that we use 8 billion barrels of oil per year.


Our entire reserve, INCLUDING both the gulf and AWR is 32 billion barrels. If we started drilling it tomorrow, it would take about 10 years before the new wells in the gulf and AWR could begin production. All of the reserves combined could be expected to produce about .5 billion barrels of oil per year for several decades. You can't get all of the oil out, no matter how good your tech. At some point, the diminishing returns make it unprofitable to keep pumping.





Let's see...domestic consumption is 8 billion barrels per year. What about the rest of the world? It's 32 billion barrels per year. A half billion extra barrels would reduce prices a little, but not much. Plus, once it's gone, it's gone.





In other words, it's a red herring: it's not enough to matter whether we drill or not. A drop in the bucket. The only reason for the smoke and mirrors was a publicity stunt to fool most gullible people who are also bad at math.





The Alaskan Wildlife Reserve has 7.7 billion barrels in it, if the USGS is correct. That's their most optimistic estimate. The most pessimistic is a little over 3 billion. It will take about 10 years to start pumping, and it will take several decades to pump it all. The estimated savings are between 1.2 to 2 cents per gallon once it comes online in 2019.





Sounds great. I'm sure I'll be able to use that 2 cents in 2019. Even with inflation, it'll still be worth something. However, there was a reason why we stopped drilling there; remember the Exxon Valdez? It did far more damage to the Alaskan coast than the profit that the oil companies made from drilling the oil.





The oil in the gulf is under a mile of water, 2 miles of bedrock, and a mile of salt and sand. After we give the oil companies the lease and subsidies, then give them some tax breaks to cover the cost of drilling the wells, it will probably be cheaper to just buy the oil. Then, there is the fact that most deep-sea wells actually only produce about 1/3 to 1/2 of the amount that is initially predicted. IF it's even there, which is far from certain. And you're talking about putting a rig down right in the middle of the gulf. You know, the place where the hurricanes blow through about 10 times a year. The oil companies do say that they haven't had a really major spill in a while. But there have been nearly 50 minor ones in the last decade. If a hurricane was to actually take out a deep-sea rig that close to the coast and cause a major spill, it could wipe out the east coast from Florida to Texas.





In other words, there were plenty of good reasons why Congress imposed the moratorium on drilling wells in Hurricane Alley and the AWR.





If the government doesn't pay for research, who will? Big Oil? Don't make me laugh. They have a vested interest in making sure we don't develop new energy resources.
I just watched CNN’s international Channel(3pm EST), breaking the news that oil price spikes again. But the anchor and the reporter assert it is China’s diesel demand contributed to the hike.





Waited a sec ! It is already THIRD time I am hearing CNN’s assertion of China’s diesel demand. The first time was about two weeks ago. What’s going on?





Then, Israel’s-Iran-attack-drill news flashing back-------Which Was Just Happened This Morning ! That “unmistakable signal” is surely an act to have a consequence of oil supply disruption ! Why is it not reported as a oil spiking cause ? !





Time to scapegoat China again before a major offensive ? To verify, I went to CNN web site , there it is :





China hikes fuel prices http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/20/news/int…





China to raise energy prices


http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/19/news/int…





But nowhere saying that Israel’s-Iran-attack-drill will unstablize the oil supply region, causing the oil price up.





For Israelis Iran Strike Drill see


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c…