I’ve shown this chart before but apparently you haven’t bothered to look at it:

That doesn’t even take into account the oil shales in the Rockies which are estimated to be many times greater than all the current fields shown here.

We could develop these fields as we transition away from foreign oil and have enough to power the entire country as we implement alternatives.

You might recall that Hurricane Katrina destroyed dozens of oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Did you see any photographs of oil soaked beaches on the nightly news?

How many times do I have to say this? There is PLENTY of oil right here. ANWR is just one large pool of it that we know we can get at quickly. There are many more.

And the corporations which put up the money to drill and take the financial risks will also reap the financial reward. Oil companies currently make less % profit than nearly every other large American industry.

And who benefits from oil exploration right here in the U.S.? The American consumer and the federal government which would collect a bonanza of new tax revenue to fund all those alternative development programs.

The Caribou at Prudhoe Bay (on the North Slope to the west of ANWR). The Caribou love it there. And note that ANWR oil installations would be a fraction of this size. Technology has come a long way since this station was built.

And here are the Three Bears out for a stroll on top of the nice warm oil pipeline at Prudhoe. They’re probably on their way to eat some of the Caribou.

And here are some of the happy native residents of Kaktovik, which lies within the ANWR drilling area. Opinion polls consistently show locals overwhelmingly support drilling as it means jobs, money for schools and community development. Funny how liberals in the lower 48 states would deny them the same opportunity that lower staters enjoy.

1 million barrels a day is 1/20 of our current usage. In 2015, are we still going to be using that much? Increased population might balanced dropping consumption (thanks to higher prices), so maybe. I just don’t see a 5% increase in oil supply as that significant. How much do you think that will affect prices?

But, maybe every little bit helps. If drilling really could be done safely, maybe there isn’t any reason to oppose it. But I still wonder, are the operations privately funded? Who gets the profits? Who really benefits?

I have to say something regarding the environmentalists and ANWAR. I know someone who grew up in Alaska, and personally saw the changes building the pipeline brought. No changes! I’m sure the environmentalists extreme were complaining about the wildlife and the land then, too. My friend said that the animals–adapted!! Can you believe it??? He witnessed the various critters walking about freely, no problems.

Obviously, the pipeline is not the same as oil drilling…but it’s my understanding that it can be done safely, with minimal effects on the surrounding environment.

More like a TWO YEAR supply of ALL the oil America needs. But if you won’t let us drill there, and you won’t let us drill off the coasts and you won’t let us process the oil shale then we are NEVER going to be energy independent and our economy will suffer.

America has enough oil RIGHT HERE to be energy independent, with just a little help now and then from Canada.

So I was wrong about the amount of oil in ANWR. A drop in the bucket versus 3 drops in the bucket. It’s not going to make much difference in the price of gas, or significantly lead us toward energy independence.

I like the idea of a Manhattan Project to develop a 21st Century energy solution. I’ve said the same thing about a dozen times. And we could pay for it all with the royalties and taxes we would collect from drilling for our OWN OIL instead of shipping the money to the Arabs.

But our friends like Jason here aren’t going to let us drill for oil and would strangle the economy that we need firing on all cylinders if we ever hope to develop a realistic alternative.

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=60739

China is drilling about 50 miles from Key West. And do we think the Chinese have the same standards for eco safety that we do?

They want to keep on doing things the same way they’ve always done things and expect that they will get different results.

In the meantime other countries are not only drilling and shipping away the oil that is right off of our shores they are also investing deeply in alternative energy options such as liquified natural gas and coal to oil.

In addition, these foreign oil platforms are slant drilling and actually taking the oil that rightfully belongs to us.

Dependence on foreign sources of fossil fuel is going to break the back of this country.

We are the only country in the history of the world which has refused to take advantage of our own natural resources.