Drill, Baby, Drill!

Earth Policy InstituteNews ReleaseFor Immediate ReleaseSeptember 18, 2008
DRILLING FOR OIL IS NOT THE ANSWER
With attention turning to the second round of the energy debate in the U.S. Senate, the Earth Policy Institute thought you might find useful a brief summary of the facts behind drilling, gasoline prices and America’s energy future.
Geological and economic realities make clear that drilling for oil cannot make the U.S. energy independent or reduce gasoline prices. Drilling is an expensive and dangerous red herring, especially because far better options exist. A new Earth Policy Institute analysis finds that powering a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle fleet with clean, renewable energy sources like wind and solar would have a seismic price impact: instead of paying $4 per gallon at the gasoline pump, we could plug in at home for the wind-generated-electricity equivalent of less than $1 per gallon. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that the wind resources in just three states--North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas--are sufficient to meet national electricity needs.
We hope you find the information below useful. It is also posted on-line with references at www.earthpolicy.org/Bulletins/2008/Bulletin3.htm.