A penny for your
thoughts?
That's how much
Americans will save at the gas pump if oil companies are
allowed to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
in Alaska.
Not so fast.
It will take 10 years
before a drop of oil from the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge reaches the gas pump - and another 10 years after
that before the drilling is at peak production. Only
then - 20 years down the road - will Americans save a
penny per gallon.
Efforts to exploit this
wildlife refuge have failed repeatedly in the past, but
that was before the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Proponents now argue that the Arctic oil is needed for
the nation's energy security, even though it would
amount to little more than a drop in the bucket. The
U.S. Department of Energy estimated in a July report
that the Arctic oil at peak production in 2025 would
represent less than one percent of the world's oil.
America consumes 25 percent of the world's oil, so the
U.S. would be a long way from home even with the Arctic
oil.
Later this month,
Congress will vote on the budget reconciliation bill
that could include a filibuster-proof provision to allow
drilling in the Arctic refuge.
This is abuse of the
legislative process to avoid debate, but proponents of
drilling insist it is proper. They argue that the
drilling rights will generate money and the budget is
about money, so they are not abusing the legislative
process. This is such a bogus argument that two dozen
Republican members of the House sent a letter to House
leaders in August to say that the debate about Arctic
drilling should be done outside the budget process.
If proponents succeed
in using the federal budget to avoid likely defeat, they
will demean the legislative process and set a dangerous
precedent for future controversial proposals.
When the price of
gasoline climbed above $3 a gallon, some Americans drove
several blocks in search of a gas station that sold it
for even a penny less.
Would they also destroy
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - the nation's
greatest wildlife sanctuary - to save a penny?
At the very least, this
is a question that should be debated on its merits, and
not hidden in the budget.
