The meme is quickly taking root -- John McCain, the Shrub and the Republicans, with their calls for offshore drilling, are taking bold and decisive action in helping reduce gasoline prices by attempting to increase supply.
Those that stand in their way are willing to sacrifice American consumers on the altar of environmentalism by refusing to consider this reasonable option during a time of enormous need.
It sounds so simple and so tempting to believe. Effective propaganda usually is.
But effectiveness is not truth. And most Americans have no idea how incredibly miniscule the benefits of increased drilling would be. Many probably expect a return to sub-$3 gas -- and what they'll receive is a handful of pennies per tank.
Time.com has an enlightening article on the subject. It's well worth reading in its entirety, but one paragraph leapt at me from the screen:
[E]ven if tomorrow we opened up every square mile of the outer Continental Shelf to offshore rigs, even if we drilled the entire state of Alaska and pulled new refineries out of thin air, the impact on gas prices would be minimal and delayed at best. A 2004 study by the government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) found that drilling in ANWR would trim the price of gas by 3.5 cents a gallon by 2027. (If oil prices continue to skyrocket, the savings would be greater, but not by much.) Opening up offshore areas to oil exploration — currently all coastal areas save a section of the Gulf of Mexico are off-limits, thanks to a congressional ban enacted in 1982 and supplemented by an executive order from the first President Bush — might cut the price of gas by 3 to 4 cents a gallon at most, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. And the relief at the pump, such as it is, wouldn't be immediate — it would take several years, at least, for the oil to begin to flow, which is time enough for increased demand from China, India and the rest of the world to outpace those relatively meager savings. [Emphasis added.]
Read that again, and commit it to memory. If we let Walnuts McSame proceed with his wet dream -- and drilling platforms spring up like weeds along our coasts -- it would, at best, cut gas prices by 4 cents per gallon. Assuming he flips on ANWR (and you're a sucker if you bet against it), you might be able to cut another 3.5 cents.
In 2027.
The Chinese probably took more meaningful action against gasoline prices today when they slashed consumer subsidies on gas purchases!
Gasoline now averages $4.08 a gallon in the U.S. If we could magically snap our fingers today -- and drilling facilities were running full-bore in ANWR and offshore tomorrow -- gasoline would cost $4.01 per gallon on Saturday.
The drilling idea gains traction because of a widespread misperception of its economic benefits. Most Americans, I suspect, believe all-out drilling will save them dollars per gallon -- not pennies.
Insidious propaganda can only be defeated with the truth, presented simply and plainly.
Is saving seven and a half cents per gallon -- 20 years from now! -- really worth the potential sacrifice of our shorelines and our largest wildlife preserve?
Offshore drilling = 3 cents per gallon.
ANWR = 3.5 cents per gallon.
Gasoline: Still more than $4 per gallon.
The facts are on our side. Let's make them known.