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Re: E-M:/ Bush energy policy?

Recently both president Bush and senator McCain have mentioned that the estimated oil reserves on our outer continental shelf amount to some 21 *billion* barrels, and they suggest that this can help us in being "energy independent" of foreign oil. This vast amount of oil, however, cannot provide "energy independence".

The US currently consumes 20 *million* barrels of oil per *day*. Dividing 21 billion by 20 million gives 1050 *days* of oil supply - less than 3 years. I recall the same calculation applied to ANWAR gave some 6 months of oil supply.

I find that most of the arguments for more drilling are based on a desire to continue, or even increase for the sake of economic growth, our current oil consumption, while ignoring the energy precipice not too distant in the future. The motivation for this appears to be primarily to keep the economic engine of the oil industry and what it supports running at full tilt as long as possible.

One analyst recently suggested that the reason for more drilling is to give us "breathing room" for the development of alternative energy sources, naming wind, solar, nuclear, tidal, geothermal, hydroelectric, etc as future replacements for oil. I will only believe that when I see an enormous investment by the nation in developing those alternatives, starting with a serious analysis of whether it is even possible for them to substitute for even our current oil consumption. I have serious doubts of that.

--Rane L Curl

On Mon, 23 Jun 2008, Larry D. Noodén wrote:

NYT OP-ED COLUMNIST

Mr. Bush, Lead or Leave
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
It is hard to find the words to express what a fraudulent,
pathetic excuse for an energy policy President Bush's new
plan is.

Two years ago, President Bush declared that America was ?addicted to oil,? and, by gosh, he was going to do something about it. Well, now he has. Now we have the new Bush energy plan: ?Get more addicted to oil.?

<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/opinion/22friedman.html?th&emc=th>