so this is, what, maybe 2 years worth of supply? that will take 10-15 years to get any meaningful amount on-line? yup, this will be a big help.

4/1/2010 9:27:17 AM

Quote :

"you people do know that oil doesn't really come from dead dinosaurs, right?"

You're right. It's actually Jesus' tears, but they took about 1900 years to ferment.

4/1/2010 10:30:49 AM

^^ I'm sorry, two years sounds like a lot. Die tomorrow or live for two years, I'll take the two years!!

4/1/2010 10:36:39 AM

Quote :

"^ what angles are there?"

that's what I'm curious about. If you are of the opinion, as I am, that Obama has done a lot of bad things since taking office and has proposed even more bad things, then when he does something actually sensible, you can't help but wonder what the fuck. I applaud the decision to something intelligent for once. But, I also can't help but be skeptical. You can't say you wouldn't have been skeptical if dubya did something unexpectedly intelligent from your perspective.

And, I'll stand up and say that the pubs who are out there bitching and moaning about this should shut the fuck up until if and when an "angle" actually comes out.

4/1/2010 11:37:56 AM

http://ecopolitology.org/2010/03/31/white-house-says-obamas-offshore-oil-plan-should-come-as-no-surprise/

Quote :

"Cries of “shock” and being “screwed over” were being tossed around by environmentalists as if this news came as an absolute surprise. Brendan Cummings, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity, described Obama’s announcement as “all too typical of what we have seen so far from President Obama.” And whether Cummings knows it or not, that is exactly the point: President Obama’s position on offshore oil and gas development — development he insists would have to be done responsibly and for the right reasons — is nothing new. “It’s something that he talked about on the campaign trail; it’s something that he’s talked about for a very long time,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton in a press room briefing. “So I think that for people who have followed the President, a lot of this policy isn’t much of a surprise to them. "

This guy seems to think he has been talking about it a while. Obama just always framed it as responsible use of the resources instead of "lets drill everything"

4/1/2010 11:51:00 AM

What gets me is the "it's never enough" attitude espoused by the right. You only need to watch Hannity for proof of this and for what? McCain himself has come out and said they are unified as the party of "NO" (or even 'Hell NO') so why would the president risk pissing off a good chunk of his most avid supporters?

I do agree though had W. come out and said that he was for something like wolf reintroduction I would be super skeptical about his true motives. I'd chalk it up to perhaps Cheney ran out of friends to shoot in the face.

The president would sell me completely on responsible offshore drilling if he had the balls to throw us a bone in return and declare the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge a national monument (as it rightly should be).

4/1/2010 11:51:12 AM

thank you for being honest about it, HR.

4/1/2010 12:03:11 PM

At this point, it's just about making sure that Obama fails, no matter what the cost. Watch the Republicants negotiate in bad faith with the Democrats again (just like they did with healthcare reform), and then come out and say, "neener neener you will fail you socialist!" And before you call bullshit on that, let me introduce you to someone... Chuck Grassley.

4/1/2010 12:06:36 PM

too bad they never even got a chance to negotiate on healthcare when it mattered, if even at all

4/1/2010 12:14:53 PM

There's already enough lying and politicking going around. I may be the biggest tree-hugger in the Soap Box if not on TWW but even I see the prudence in responsible and SAFE utilization of resources that are vital to current infrastructure while simultaneously and aggressively developing new, clean energy alternatives because as TKE-Teg has pointed out, if we don't use it, then someone else will and you can bet your ass whomever it is could care less about any environmental damage to our coast that could or would ensue from a disaster.

4/1/2010 12:18:11 PM

Quote :

"too bad they never even got a chance to negotiate on healthcare when it mattered, if even at all"

What do you call all of the months leading up to the August recess townhall bullshit? That wasn't a series of negotiations in committees? I mean, it was in the papers and on the teevee machines and everything!

[Edited on April 1, 2010 at 12:29 PM. Reason : "of"]

4/1/2010 12:22:09 PM

no, it wasn't negotiations that seriously included Republicans. They locked them out of the proceedings, for crying out loud

4/1/2010 1:06:50 PM

It's not a "three-year supply" in conventional terms. There's estimated to be AT MOST an amount of oil in these areas equivalent to 3 years worth of current US consumption. However, it's going to take decades to fully tap these supplies, if it can be done at all.

It's not like he just signed a bill that covers the US's oil needs for the next two whole years. Prices are not about to start dropping at the pump.

4/1/2010 1:23:08 PM

Nobody's really mentioned this, but it should be noted that this statement by Obama isn't "lifting" a ban on oil exploration. The executive ban was lifted by Bush in July 2008. Likewise, the congressional ban was lifted in October 2008. There has been no legal obstacles to prevent drilling. Rather, Obama's Admin has been (up till now) refusing to offer leases to the oil companies. So when you look at it that way it really isn't anything earth shattering.

Quote :

"So true. While I don't expect you to answer for the GOP you are, and have been, one of the more reasonable people on this (as well as other issues) so I ask what is up with the 'it's never good enough' mentality from those on the right? Look no further than the minority leader's own words for proof. The president is already getting serious outrage from my peeps who feel betrayed by this. The president would go a long way to assuage folks by also tackling real environmental dangers such as pollution or hell, how about the giant island of plastic in the Pacific that is decimating wildlife? "

HockeyRoman, its hard to deny that a lot of the grandstanding is being done just to try and make Obama look bad to the GOP base. However, it can be argued that Obama made this concession as a ploy to try and make passage of a climate bill later this year easier (in a tit for tat sort of way). And I have to wholeheartedly agree with you that the president (and gov't for that matter) would get a lot more credibility in regards to caring about the environment if they did something about the giant plastic blob in the Pacific, preventing chemical pollution, etc. In my eyes they don't do anything about it b/c there's no power to be gained in these actions.

4/1/2010 1:27:51 PM

Quote :

"Prices are not about to start dropping at the pump."

Oil is a storage resource. If I credibly promise that I will be bringing new supplies to market in the future, then prices will fall today as traders try to empty their holdings in advance of cheaper supplies being available in the future. While the effect gets smaller the further you are out, the effect will still be there, because someone somewhere will put off refilling their tank.

^ Yes, a climate bill... the surest way to fight climate change is to make oil cheaper. Good work?

[Edited on April 1, 2010 at 1:35 PM. Reason : .,.]

4/1/2010 1:35:10 PM

^well the gov't wants to put in place either a carbon tax or a cap and trade scheme. Either way, they'll get $$$ out of it. So why not enable increased usage of oil. I might be going off into fairyland here, but what if gasoline prices dropped a significant amount (due to increased oil supply) and the gov't increased their tax on it. Since the price per gallon would still be close to what it was before its likely there would not be a lot of protesting. Anways

4/1/2010 1:38:53 PM

^ Quite true. Although the lower world-price for oil would still engender more foreign oil consumption.

4/1/2010 1:46:24 PM

^^^ it's difficult to predict how much oil will be produced, and when. opening these reserves up for bid won't have a material impact on oil prices (much less gas prices) until their production is somewhat predictable, which won't be for a good 10 years or so. so no, prices at the pump are not about to drop anytime soon.

[Edited on April 1, 2010 at 2:13 PM. Reason : .]

4/1/2010 2:11:39 PM

Where are you getting these numbers? 2 years, 10 years? Brazil discovered offshore oil, sold leases, and was under production within 16 months. But even if it was 2+ years, it would still have an impact on prices. But even if it didn't, so what? Even you would admit it will have an impact whenever you believe production will begin. Not only that, but there are no costs to doing it: the government gains revenue, consumers get greater supply at lower prices, workers get jobs, everyone wins. How can that not be good enough for anyone on this forum?

4/1/2010 2:56:33 PM

^^I'd imagine that construction of a few new oil refineries in the US would do more to lower gasoline prices than new drilling sites off the coast.

4/1/2010 3:23:16 PM

sure, IF the reserves are there, large, and cheaply accessible, it makes sense. but none of those are a given, and it's in no way a sure-fire path towards energy independence. i spent 6 months in the exploration arm of an oil major, and there are countless offshore projects that were unsuccessful. people who think we can simply offer leases, plop down some rigs, and magically our gas prices fall are foolish. i'm not saying that's everyone on this board, but that's a common misconception from the US public. there are big risks to these projects, and oil prices need to be pretty high to entice oil majors to take on those risks. offering the leases is the first step, but it will be much longer than 16 months before we see any meaningful production from these new regions.

^ yes, without a doubt that would help.

[Edited on April 1, 2010 at 3:25 PM. Reason : .]

4/1/2010 3:24:36 PM

Quote :

"so no, prices at the pump are not about to drop anytime soon."

oil prices are based on a futures market, which means they're prone to "psychological" fluctuations just like the stock market. It's not pure supply/demand (nothing is really).

4/1/2010 4:27:45 PM

That reminds me of a story one of my economics professors told about how stupid he thought an old lady being interviewed on the local news for one of those "a hurricane is coming, so gas prices are going up, and look how bad the locals think that is" stories.

And the old lady was saying "I don't think its right that they increase prices based on speculation." And then they ask the old lady why she is there, and she says "oh, well I already had half a tank, but I wanted to fill up in case prices go up" so she was engaging in just predicting future prices and trying to manipulate the system as the gas station was.

4/1/2010 4:37:25 PM

I have a buddy who lived a year in Houston texas. I asked him what the beaches were like and he said shitty because their is oil refineries everywhere and getting in teh gulf is like wading in a chemical factory.

4/1/2010 8:18:51 PM

*sigh* i'm a little disappointed in this. can't we just add some windmills out there while we're at it? i know that he's keeping to his campaign rhetoric on this, and i'm not 100% against off-shore oil drilling (the US clearly needs energy diversity), but i would like to see an earnest attempt at implementing a renewable energy strategy in the US, and "clean" coal and nuclear aren't exactly innovative



V Not In My Back Yard!

[Edited on April 1, 2010 at 10:49 PM. Reason : ]

4/1/2010 10:42:13 PM

I'm cool with offshore drilling, just anywhere but in NC!

4/1/2010 10:49:10 PM

you got to love the NIMBY mentality present in this thread.

4/1/2010 11:37:16 PM

Quote :

"I have a buddy who lived a year in Houston texas. I asked him what the beaches were like and he said shitty because their is oil refineries everywhere and getting in teh gulf is like wading in a chemical factory."

I've driven through Houston several times since I moved down to Texas. That place smells quite awful on some days.

4/1/2010 11:54:08 PM

As a side note to all of this brouhaha, you should see some of the bat-shit crazy campaign sloganeering down here in Texas. There's all sorts of conservative signs out with variations on "drill here, drill now, save money." I think some of these people have entirely lost touch with reality.

4/2/2010 7:01:54 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwjuCj-HXoQ

4/2/2010 7:13:11 PM