Drill, Baby, Drill
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Mark Fiore is an editorial cartoonist and animator whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, and dozens of other publications. He is an active member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, and has a web site featuring his work.
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The problem with the "Drill, Baby Drill" mantra is that even if we tapped EVERY possible spot in the US for oil reserves (including putting down a well in your living room), it would not lower the price of fuel. Oil companies are "For PROFIT" stockholder owned companies and crude oil is a world-traded commodity. If US oil companies had more available oil, they'd have more crude available for sale on the world market. If they could get $150+ dollars a barrel for crude in India, China or elsewhere, that's where they'd sell. They would not provide $75 a barrel oil to us out of the goodness of their hearts. They'd sell to the highest bidder & double their profits. That's what they do and what they'd continue to do. Nothing personal. It's just business. Unless specific laws were enacted for prevention, nothing would change that.
Here are the facts.
Oil companies do not need new areas to drill. They need to focus on areas that are already opened to them. Of the 42 million acres of Federal land currently leased by oil and gas companies, only about 12 million acres are actually being drilled to produce oil and natural gas.
Of the 90 million offshore acres the oil industry has leases to, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, upwards of 70 million are not being drilled and as such are not producing oil and natural gas.
If the Republican claims about more drilling are correct, why aren't they demanding Big Oil explore drilling on the 30 million acres of Federal land and 70 million acres offshore (that's 100 MILLION ACRES) that are already open to them but that they refuse to explore?
The US has 3% of the world's oil reserves and uses 25% of the world's oil production.
Drilling a new well every 50 feet will not change these facts either.
I say instead of satire, let's build steam cars. Treat the problem at the root, instead of complaining about the symptoms. It's easy to trash on the oil companies and the 'government', but it's a darn sight harder to push forward the technology that's going to change the status quo. Easy to complain, harder to change...
Well before you can push forward new technologies, someone has to point out why the old technology is bad. This is often done through satire and just plain criticism. It is a motivator. Change cannot come without motivation.
