Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less? I Doubt It

Let me first preface this article with saying that I am a fan of Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the house and author of the book “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less”, but I disagree with him completely on this subject.

His theory is that high gas prices are spurred by supply and demand as well as OPEC controlling the flow of output. Conditions that may or may not increase the actual price of oil, but the statements in themselves are true. Yes there is a greater demand for oil with China and India becoming more industrialized nations using more of the resource as well.

The second statement says that OPEC controls the output which is also true but only for those nations that are actually a part of OPEC. The nations that make up OPEC are Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Iran. Yes those countries will slow down their production but not to raise the prices like they say, they do it because they have too much. Yes you heard me right they have too much. Over the course of the past 5 years the United States, who consumes 25% of that resource, has become conscious about conserving, therefore OPEC has no other choice but to slow down production, otherwise they would have tankers of the stuff sitting in the Persian Gulf!

I don’t believe drilling here will help anymore in regards to price. Peace of mind, yes, peace in our wallet, No. If you notice the list of countries that belong to OPEC you will also notice that a few of them (at least some of their people) do not look favorably upon the United States. So the first reaction is “Oh my God! We have to get off foreign oil!” which is true, but not by drilling here for more oil.

The only savings that would occur is the reduced transportation costs which I am sure would be offset by some new federal law that would be created forcing oil companies to take extra measures to ensure the environment in this country would not be put at risk. So any savings you might have seen would all be gone in some new environment tax. Now I know this is all theory and the speaker is much more knowledgeable about the subject, but I say if you want to pay less at the pump, then we need to take measure so we don’t have to go there.

In other words, the only true way we can save at the pump is not using them in the first place. If you aren’t using them that means you aren’t buying anything. However I know that this solution may never come or is years beyond my lifetime away. In the meantime I know there are solutions we can take today that will at least help us reduce our need for any oil, both foreign and domestic.

For starters more car manufacturers are creating flex fuel vehicles then ever before. These vehicles can run off regular gasoline or an ethanol/gas mixture of up to 85% ethanol. More hybrid cars are being built as well, and if you do a lot of city driving these types of cars would be beneficial for you. The possibility of electric cars, once seemed to be nothing more than science fiction or not a reality due to the cumbersome task of having to plug them in at night, are now becoming a reality as manufacturers race to be the first out. Over time as more of these cars are created their use will become more practical and accepted.

I see a day in my lifetime where we are driving cars that are hybrids powered by both electric and ethanol without the need for gasoline (or very little) all together. When will that day come? I don’t know, but I do know that drilling here only alleviates the problem, of needing oil, for a while. We need to solve the problem not make it less painful.