“Drill here, drill now, pay less.” This is Newt Gingrich’s new campaign to support domestic drilling in ANWR and thus ‘lower’ gas prices for Americans. Aside from seriously hurting Newt’s supposed green credentials, it is also blatantly dishonest.
How much cheaper would gas be if drilling was allowed in ANWR?
It is expected that the price impact of ANWR coastal plain production might reduce world oil prices by as much as 30 to 50 cents per barrel [in 2025]… Assuming that world oil markets continue to work as they do today, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could countermand any potential price impact of ANWR coastal plain production by reducing its exports by an equal amount.
30 to 50 cents cheaper per barrel equals roughly 1 cent cheaper per gallon. It hardly seems worth drilling in an ecological sensitive area to lower gar prices by measly penny in two decades. It also raises the question: how is drilling for more oil and releasing more greenhouse gases part of Gingrich’s ”entrepreneurial environmentalism,” or a call to conservatives to “embrace their inner Teddy Roosevelt”?
In short: The U.S. cannot affect oil or gasoline prices in any significant way by drilling more oil. Full stop. Gingrich is knowingly lying to people (and taking their money).
While many people concerned about the state of the natural word (like EO Wilson) have praised Newt Gingrich’s new found ‘environmentalism’ the reality is that he is simply greenwashing the same corporate-friendly policies the GOP has been pushing for decades. Unfortunately many people are falling for it. While it is nice to see Republicans finally admit that these serious problems exists, until they propose effective policy to deal with climate change and environmental degradation they do not deserve the support of environmentalists.
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