Quote:
Originally Posted by zimmy
Jim, The cost/benefit analysis for a place like ANWR clearly indicates that the benefits do not outweigh the potential environmental impacts of drilling there. As you saw in the gulf, . Prince Williams sound has not completely recovered after 20 years. The effects on the Gulf will also likely last decades. If the benefits were as great as you initially implied I would be with you. I do not think 3 cents per gallon 20 years from now is worth it. We could have raised CAFE standards for cars 20 years ago and saved way more oil over that time than the US could have drilled. Conservatives fought it. Reduced consumption would have also reduced demand and prices would have been cheaper and more stable than now. The reason they are going up is demand in China and somewhat in India. Now the conservatives scream drill baby. It is a bit of BS. Drilling for oil here is not a fix for the economy or unemployment or gas prices. If it were, I would support expansion. With some simple conservation and higher fuel standards we could have cut our consumption 10% and stopped importing from Saudi Arabia years ago.
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"The cost/benefit analysis for a place like ANWR clearly indicates that the benefits do not outweigh the potential environmental impacts of drilling there."
OK, so you are saying that the damage to the environment will outweigh any economic impact. I agree that the environment needs to be considered. What evidence is there that suggests that the damage to the environment would be greater than the economic lift?
"offshore drilling has risks serious enough that Jeb Bush did not want it expanded for Florida"
So now you're listening to Jeb Bush?
How many serious accidents have there been with offshore drilling? People get killed in cars every day, so should we switch to rickshaws? I know it sounds cold, but you don't throw away a technology because of a handful of deaths...
"Drilling for oil here is not a fix for the economy or unemployment or gas prices."
Based on what? Please cite a non-political source that says that domestic drilling will not create jobs, and will not lower domestic prices?
I also agree with you that if the environmental cost is too great, we shouldn't do it. But I'm not going to let Al Gore or Rachael Maddow tell me what the environmental cost is. Almost any estimate of environmental damage is pure speculation. Look at hard, irrefutable facts. Norway does it, and it's beautiful there. Maybe their oil doesn't require as much environmental scarring as ours?