Domestic Oil is America's future

Oil-rich America?

Anyone who drives a car or heats their home with natural gas agrees that we need to do everything we can to lower gas prices. Well, with enough proven reserves to supply America's current consumption needs for decades, drilling at home would not only alleviate high prices but provide several other critical benefits for the U.S.

As the above article points out, the Americas, from Northern Canada down to Argentina, are on the way to replacing the Middle East as the world's gas and oil suppliers. In the U.S. new reserves are being found thanks to new technology, and rising gas prices are making these reserves more economically feasible to exploit, especially with the current economic climate.

Lowering gas prices are just one of many potential benefits of drilling at home. Economically, domestic oil has the opportunity to provide millions of jobs, billions of dollars worth of investment, even more in export dollars, and money to spur more investment and infrastructure. It has the potential, through investment and business and employee spending, to put enough money back into the economy and boost GDP enough to kickstart the economy and spur the economic activity to finally pull us out of the recession.

The government would benefit, too. Like the money drilling would put into the economy, the tax revenue, both business and personal, would boost government revenue. Similarly, cost savings on social programs like unemployment and food stamps, and ending subsidies and tax breaks for oil companies and alternative energy companies(and allowing time for these technologies to develop enough to become both economical and provide enough energy to meet demand) will put a big dent in spending. Increased revenue and decreased spending will go a long way to reduce the deficit and free up money for infrastructure and other economic recovery projects.

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Politically, reducing reliance on foreign oil provides huge benefits. "Energy independence" has become a buzz word for a reason, and our current wars and policy in the Middle East are aimed at securing the oil supply. By providing our own gas and oil, we wouldn't need to put so much importance on the region, saving money and lives by ending extremely unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and likely avoiding a war with Iran. America's Middle East policy hurts our image abroad as well, and changing our focus can improve our image and international cooperation on American interests. Finally, American money would stop propping up dictators and murderous regimes run counter to U.S. human rights policy and often endanger national security. Without depending on anti-American countries for gas and oil, America will be a significantly more secure nation, freeing up resources for other, more pressing threats to national security.

The obvious boost for politicians seeking re-election that a rebounded economy and decreased unemployment should be enough for them to support and enable drilling, but some special interest groups, mainly environmental, are providing enough pressure on Democrats to hold it back. A prime example is the current debate over the Keystone XL pipeline, which despite offering the opportunity for investment, jobs, and a cheap, secure supply of oil from our Northern neighbors, is currently being blocked by environmental groups.  This is another example where the benefits outweigh the risks; it is estimated that tens of thousands of jobs would directly and indirectly be created and billions of dollars pumped into the economy.  Despite environmental concerns about the pipeline running over a large aquifer that supplies water to millions of people, there are already thousands of pipelines, including natural gas and oil pipelines, that already run across the aquifer with no damage to local water supplies.

Many natural gas and oil fields are located on Federally protected forests and wildlife areas in Alaska and the Western U.S., which is the main cause of the opposition. Those federal lands are indeed important to the U.S. and our future, but current priority must focus on creating jobs, investment, and economic growth.  Of course, any drilling would come with environmental regulations and protections to ensure minimal damage to the land as well, a policy not found in most other oil producing nations.  There are also massive reserves under the Gulf of Mexico which offer not only a consistent, secure supply of oil, but high paying jobs for blue-collar workers on the rigs, jobs that Democrats typically advocate, protect, and benefit from.  Unfortunately, last year's BP/Deepwater Horizon devastating oil spill, the largest in history, has made deep-water drilling in the Gulf extremely unpopular and nearly impossible to authorize, letting another vital economic asset lie dormant when we need it most.   The death blow may be global warming, of which gas and oil are the leading cause and makes further use and exploitation widely unpopular as it not only further contributes to warming but discourages use and readevelopment of "green" technologies.

Supporters, however, raise several good rebuttals to environmental concerns. The main argument in response to environmental concerns is that if we don't utilize our oil reserves to meet demand, other nations with far less environmental regulation, if any at all, will produce whatever oil we don't, potentially causing far worse environmental damage than had it been produced domestically.  During these tough economic times America cannot afford to pass over such an economically and politically beneficial resource. Clearly, the benefits outweigh the costs as America's best chance for energy security and economic recovery may be its oil and gas reserves.  Immediately exploiting our gas and oil reserves should be at the top of the government's priorities, with authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline as soon as possible.  Environmental concerns are legitimate and should be considered, but with the government accumulating debt at record highs, a crippling trade deficit, high unemployment, low job growth, crumbling infrastructure, unreliable energy sources, and high energy costs battering the economy, the U.S. is in no position to let this economic game-changer to lie dormant under our feet.  We should fire every politician who talks of tough economic times and pushes failed jobs policies while failing tapping into this lucrative asset.