The United States, China, Japan and Russia are the world's four biggest users of oil. Daily the USA uses over 21 million barrels of oil, China uses over 7 million, Japan a little over 5 million and the Russians a little over 3 million barrels per day. When Bush and Republicans talk about the US drilling itself out of its energy problems, they very seldom, if ever, talk about how much oil we use compared to other countries.
2 comments:
Yes, but how much we really use is irrelevant for your comment. First of all, if drilling was released today, we would be getting the first barrels of oil off the coast of CA in less than a year, the first barrel of the deep-sea reservoir in 2 years, and oil from ANWR in less than 5. That is a far cry from the 10 years that the Democratic Party proclaims. In addition, what has the Democrat controlled Congress and Senate done in the last 2 years to increase development in alternative energy stimulation? Nothing. Just like the Republicans.
First of all you don't cite any sources for your claims regarding how fast the US could increase domestic oil production by allowing drilling in areas that aren't already leased out. Second, you ignore the fact that the Democratic House has proposed legislation that would require oil companies to use the leases they already own and aren't developing.
That bill, H.R. 6515, would have done the following:
speeding the development of
Speeding theNational Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) by requiring the Secretary of Interior to offer at least one lease sale annually in the NPR-A.
Reinstating a ban on the foreign export of Alaskan oil.
Incorporating the ‘Use It or Lose It’ legislation, which simply requires oil producers to drill on the leases they already have or relinquish them so that another company can produce the oil there.
Calling on the President to use the powers of his office to facilitate the completion of oil pipelines into the NPR-A and to facilitate the construction of a Alaska natural gas pipeline to the continental United States to move the product to market.
You can read more about the DRILL Act by clicking by going to http://www.speaker.gov/legislation?id=0234
The DRILL Act received 244 votes for passage, but didn't get the two-thirds majority required for that legislation.
Here's the point of the blog entry, which apparently wasn't as clear as we had hoped: Oil is a finite resource. It is disappearing. Nature isn't making anymore of it. Therefore we need to adopt conservation and renewable energy as a societal goal.
Unfortunately, the idiot in the White House and his henchman, Dick "The Duckhunter" Cheney don't believe in conservation or alternative energy. Until Bush is removed, or until enough Republicans are willing to buck him by telling him they will not support a veto of legislation mandating alternative energy sources, it isn't going to happen.
Frankly, your post sounds like typical Republican bs. Republicans threaten filibusters on Democratic sponsored legislation, Democrats can't break the filibusters, and then Republicans claim that Democrats aren't doing anything about our nation's problems. The fact that the media chooses not to talk about this cynical Republican tactic doesn't mean that it isn't being used.
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