Friedman: "Drill, baby, drill" makes America stupid
Photo by maveric2003. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
Every now and then, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman reiterates his support for plug-in vehicles in his columns. His latest, headlined "Making America Stupid" doesn't mention PHEVs by name, but it does put the question of where our future energy should come from into stark partisan relief. Friedman's basic idea is that any encouragement of domestic drilling, especially the inane "drill, baby, drill" refrain, just makes America stupid because we're not spending money getting us out of our dependency. In his words, "an America that is focused first and foremost on drilling for oil is an America more focused on feeding its oil habit than kicking it."
Granted, both major presidential candidates (Obama and McCain) have some sort of energy plan that includes alternatives, but Friedman's article is pretty convincing when he says that it's the people who sell oil to the U.S., not the chanting Republicans, who must be the biggest fans of "drill, baby, drill" around.
[Source: NY Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Brent 1:25PM (9/15/2008)
Republicans chanting? 70% of America wants to drill our own oil.
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meme 1:50PM (9/15/2008)
Most Americans are also grossly misinformed on the issue, believing that it'll add oil to the market right away and/or that it'll produce far, far more than it actually will. The amount of oil to be gained from OCS drilling is just a couple percent of our total consumption, and it'd be about 7 years before even the first drops of it hit the market. Most Americans have been grossly mislead about this.
That doesn't mean that it's *wrong* to drill; it's just that they're misinformed, and that it's not really much of a solution to anything. Personally, I have mixed feelings on the issue. On one hand, I strongly reject NIMBYism (is it really better for the environment for us to get our oil from Saudi deserts, Canadian tar sands, or Venezuelan rain forests? Really?). On the other, it's not really a solution. I'm kind of fond of the compromise Obama has been pushing for, wherein the drilling issue is passed off to the individual states in exchange for the "drill, baby, drill!" crowd dropping opposition to a program of repealing oil company tax incentives and fund alternative energy programs with that money instead. I see it as a win-win situation.
Noz 10:01PM (9/15/2008)
I'm sorry...but a nation of idiots voting to drill does not make it right.
70% of Americans voting for anything is questionable at best these days.
Mike Z 1:35PM (9/15/2008)
I think he is missing the point:
For the foreseeable future the US will rely on oil to account for a significant amount of our transportation needs. With that in mind, it makes sense that we keep as much of that flow of money within this country.
As much a PHEVs and a like offer a possibility to abate our demand for oil nothing yet offers the possibility to obliterate it. As such, we are wise to look to at least produce as much it as possible locally.
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jeffzekas 1:47PM (9/15/2008)
Repeat after me: "Oil is NOT a renewable resource... Oil WILL run out." We can be like the ant, who stored food for the winter, or like the grasshopper, who lay in the sun, saying, "I don't need to worry! Everything is okay!"... But, the fact is, now or later, we shall need to wean ourselves off our oil addiction... like heroin addicts, we have been on a 100 year binge... but now, it is coming to an end... there are over ONE BILLION PEOPLE in China, and they ALL want to drive automobiles! Same for India... Oil is running out, and time is running out. So, all you ostriches out there: take your head out of the sand!
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Brent 1:57PM (9/15/2008)
Brazil has some oil to sell us. Lots of it! :)
Andy 11:04PM (9/15/2008)
Their heads are not in the sand. They are in a dark place, where the sun never shines.
stevefazek 2:36PM (9/15/2008)
USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA
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Bill 2:31PM (9/15/2008)
It will be at least 2 years before we can buy a light-duty passenger vehicle that can run solely on electricity.
It will be much longer than that before commercial long-haul trucks can get away from fossil fuels.
We have never been more vulnerable to an oil embargo than we are today - national governments that flat-out dislike (at best) us control more oil than ever before.
In the interim, while we are changing over from liquid fuels to electricity, we need to continue to drill.
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Donald Bush 2:44PM (9/15/2008)
Whom ever claims it will be at least 7-years to see any effect of drilling now is truly "ignorant!"
I have already started drilling in well known oil fields in the US and we are already making a small difference. Every a little bit of US dirived oil is that that much more we are not purchasing from out side sources...
Paul 2:56PM (9/15/2008)
So Brazil just discovered the massiveTupi field last November, vastly increasing their known reserves. The field is extremely difficult to access, "farther from the surface than any of the world's existing fields" according to the Economist. First barrels of production? In a few months. 30,000 bpd next year, 100,000 year after that. Who knows what lies undiscovered under our OCS? I only wish we, the United States of America, had mighty Brazil's ability to exploit resources.
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meme 3:23PM (9/15/2008)
"Whom ever claims it will be at least 7-years to see any effect of drilling now is truly "ignorant!" "
Better tell my father, who is a president of Shell, that he "is truly ignorant", because those are the numbers he gave my brother in law when he asked how long it would take to get OCS oil online. My father's first answer was 10 years, but he then said you could probably get some in 7 if you started immediately.
There's a world of difference between sinking a new onshore well into an existing field with infrastructure around it and developing a new field from scratch. The first few years alone will be dedicated to analysis just to figure out where to drill.
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stevefazek 5:05PM (9/15/2008)
A few areas should be drilled but what people should know its no were near environmentally friendly.
Ask anyone who lives on the gulf coast and they will tell you they regularly see oil slicks. They are not big but they do ad up.
McCain delayed his oil platform trip because of an oil spill
we should drill the Floridan straights because cuba is already and theres nothing we can do to stop it. Its half our oil yet we are giving them all of it
Wise Golden 12:20PM (9/16/2008)
That's not true -- McCain delayed his platform trip because of a huricane. I live on the gulf and have never seen one of these slicks that you're talking about.
You’re opposed to drilling – fine, but that doesn’t excuse making up lies to support an opinion.
rob 3:53PM (9/15/2008)
I love the way that the GOP plan is misrepresented by the media. It is NOT only "drill baby drill" but MUCH MORE:
http://www.gop.gov/energy/americanenergyact/
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Mike!!ekiM 3:59PM (9/15/2008)
Do you think us that dumb?
Plans are BS. Votes for Alt. Energy Solutions is what counts.
Republicans have not stopped protecting oil.
stevefazek 5:01PM (9/15/2008)
That link is just saying Drill baby DRILL
rob 7:30AM (9/16/2008)
Stevefazek,
Did you ACTUALLY read it? Looks like you didn't.
Mike!!ekim,
Note that there are references to some real legislation there as opposed to "hope"ful thinking.
Chris M 10:33PM (9/20/2008)
It was political grandstanding. The Republicans in the House didn't do diddly squat for years, they waited until after Pelosi recessed the House for the annual August vacation so they could pretend that the Democrats were blocking their energy plan. In short, they deliberately delayed talk on energy just to try to embarrass Pelosi and the Democratic party!
The fact that they had been blocking Democratic energy efforts for years was conveniently overlooked.
Mike!!ekiM 3:57PM (9/15/2008)
Drilling has it's place, but, we need a bigger commitment to get the transportation sector out of oil. That can be done sooner then 7 years.
If the oil industry doesn't diversify into alt. energy then so be it. No one cry's tears for the buggy-wipe industry. If the Republican party keeps blocking alt. energy in the Senate then we need to Vote Them Out.
I'll be happy to start voting Republican again when they start solving our national needs.
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