Can We Drill Yet?

Erika Johnsen | May 04, 2011 5:32 PM

As gas prices rise and economic recovery stalls, environmentalist-friendly politicians (not to be confused with environment-friendly politicians) continually invent reasons why we cannot and should not drill our own domestic oil: our carbon emissions are accelerating global warming; we must invest in green technology before China outperforms us; we do not have enough oil to make a dent in global gasoline prices. And of course, my favorite myth of all: our domestic oil supply is running drastically low. Environmental-fear-mongers have been insisting that the world will shortly run out of oil supplies for decades, but we continue to discover

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There is a major difference between the supply of oil that, given current prices and technology, is economically practical to extract, and the finite physical supply of oil ultimately available. By some estimates, the United States is sitting on well over two trillions barrels of crude oil, enough to meet our current demand for automobile, aircraft, industrial, and heating fuel for 300 years.

In his recent op-ed, Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe detailed the non-partisan Congressional Research Service’s conclusion that America has the planet’s largest combined supply of oil, coal, and natural gas. Despite President Obama’s insistence that an immediate, government-mandated, farcical green-revolution is our only viable option, tapping into these reserves will create jobs and strengthen the economy. As