Drill here, drill now... prophetic

#28
#28
volinbham said:
I don't follow why more exploration and extraction makes us more vulnerable then not exploring and extracting.
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Right now, it is assumed we have some domestic supply laying around untapped. That has to be worth something. When we can no longer have anything to chant "drill" about, we will totally be at outsiders' mercy.

Just my take. And it seems likely most of the "easy" oil is either being tapped or is gone. I know I'm going to get shot for this, but accidents like the one we had last summer are going to be a lot more likely as we push into areas that are more difficult to extract from.
 
#32
#32
IPorange said:
Right now, it is assumed we have some domestic supply laying around untapped. That has to be worth something. When we can no longer have anything to chant "drill" about, we will totally be at outsiders' mercy.

Just my take. And it seems likely most of the "easy" oil is either being tapped or is gone. I know I'm going to get shot for this, but accidents like the one we had last summer are going to be a lot more likely as we push into areas that are more difficult to extract from.
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As a counter argument - by preventing exploration and attempts at extraction we stunt the learning curve we need to get at oil that is increasingly harder to reach. We are putting it on hold rather than advancing exploration and extraction techniques.
 
#33
#33
IPorange said:
Why could these places not have been drilled prior to 4 years ago? Serious question.
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I believe there were bans stretching back to the late 60s. Some are state based some are federal. Congress hasn't had a taste for more drilling either.
 
#34
#34
volinbham said:
As a counter argument - by preventing exploration and attempts at extraction we stunt the learning curve we need to get at oil that is increasingly harder to reach. We are putting it on hold rather than advancing exploration and extraction techniques.
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Again, what's the end-game? At a certain point, we have to get off oil. Why not do it while there is a safety-net of there still being some around, rather than waiting until we get into a apocalyptic scenario where society will utterly collapse in x months unless we miraculously find a new source of portable fuel? We can't really develop alternatives until it is economically viable to do so.
 
#35
#35
volinbham said:
I believe there were bans stretching back to the late 60s. Some are state based some are federal. Congress hasn't had a taste for more drilling either.
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Exactly.

You want to debate oil drilling policy I think a heckuva an argument cna be made that we need to reexamine that, and not just because of the last few weeks.

But the OP's clear intent was to assail this as Obama's fault and that is utter nonsense.
 
#37
#37
volinbham said:
I believe there were bans stretching back to the late 60s. Some are state based some are federal. Congress hasn't had a taste for more drilling either.
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So a republican president and congress, and at a time when most states were leaning republican, did not make it a priority, is what you are saying.
 
#39
#39
IPorange said:
Again, what's the end-game? At a certain point, we have to get off oil. Why not do it while there is a safety-net of there still being some around, rather than waiting until we get into a apocalyptic scenario where society will utterly collapse in x months unless we miraculously find a new source of portable fuel? We can't really develop alternatives until it is economically viable to do so.
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agree in principle, but why torpedo the economy in the meanwhile? it's fairly obvious we aren't on the verge of solving our energy problems.
 
#40
#40
lawgator1 said:
Exactly.

You want to debate oil drilling policy I think a heckuva an argument cna be made that we need to reexamine that, and not just because of the last few weeks.

But the OP's clear intent was to assail this as Obama's fault and that is utter nonsense.
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Obama doubled down after BP - he certainly has a hand in this.
 
#41
#41
utvolpj said:
so the last time oil went this high is was through no fault of Bush?
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Bush bears no more blame than any other single politician when it comes to U.S. drilling policy. As bham states, that has a convoluted, largely state-bound decision-making process behind it.

You could argue that the attack on Iraq had some effect on oil prices for awhile, but that is a separate issue, imo.
 
#42
#42
IPorange said:
So a republican president and congress, and at a time when most states were leaning republican, did not make it a priority, is what you are saying.
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I'm saying the country didn't make it a priority and neither did the government. It has since moved to priority with states like Virginia and Florida to some extent showing more interest but the Feds have shut it down.
 
#43
#43
droski said:
agree in principle, but why torpedo the economy in the meanwhile? it's fairly obvious we aren't on the verge of solving our energy problems.
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Why would we be? Drill baby, drill. We don't even bat an eye at 3 bucks at the pump right now. That tells you how deep our need for oil still is and how far things will have to go before people start taking this seriously, rather than recalling when they could fill up for less than a dollar a gallon and acting like they have a right to cheap fuel or a certain lifestyle, regardless of the price.
 
#44
#44
IPorange said:
Again, what's the end-game? At a certain point, we have to get off oil. Why not do it while there is a safety-net of there still being some around, rather than waiting until we get into a apocalyptic scenario where society will utterly collapse in x months unless we miraculously find a new source of portable fuel? We can't really develop alternatives until it is economically viable to do so.
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Yes we have to get off it eventually but what is the point of leaving it in the ground?

Do you really believe that US drilling bans will move the world off of oil more quickly? With less pain/turmoil? I just don't see it.
 
#45
#45
IPorange said:
Why would we be? Drill baby, drill. We don't even bat an eye at 3 bucks at the pump right now. That tells you how deep our need for oil still is and how far things will have to go before people start taking this seriously, rather than recalling when they could fill up for less than a dollar a gallon and acting like they have a right to cheap fuel or a certain lifestyle, regardless of the price.
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if you want to discourage individual consumption significantly raise the gas tax (which i've argued in favor of in different threads). developing domestic oil fields can only be beneficial for our long term stability. as i said before tax a look at the benefit we've seen of the huge increase in domestic gas findings. i see them as seperate issues.
 
#46
#46
droski said:
if you want to discourage individual consumption significantly raise the gas tax (which i've argued in favor of in different threads). developing domestic oil fields can only be beneficial for our long term stability. i see them as seperate issues.
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I agree
 
#47
#47
volinbham said:
Yes we have to get off it eventually but what is the point of leaving it in the ground?

Do you really believe that US drilling bans will move the world off of oil more quickly? With less pain/turmoil? I just don't see it.
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Less pain? Maybe not. Create an artificial amount of higher oil demand that could help encourage alternatives and conservation, while there still being some around in case of WW3 or something breaking out? Yes.
 
#48
#48
volinbham said:
Obama doubled down after BP - he certainly has a hand in this.
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Please. No one significant, R or D, was touting more drilling in the immediate wake of that. And after it had died down, everyone's line on it softened, including Obama's.
 
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