Amongst all the hype and controversy concerning Bush lifting the offshore drilling ban, one key argument has seemed to have flown beneath the public discourse for too long. Correct me if I'm wrong, but up until reading this post from Bob Cesca high lighting the common misconception that this oil will be "ours" for the keeping. Unless the off shore drilling platforms and their locations nationalized, they will produce oil for the highest bidder no matter their country of origin. Compare this to that of another gas station opening amidst an area already occupied by three other gas stations. Now for fun let's say two of those gas stations, although having different names, are in fact, one in the same. There will be no outrageous declines in fuel costs. The only result of this experiment would be that competition amongst the stations would increase by some degree, causing a slight drop fuel. Although lower, the cost will still fluctuate in the market place on the daily. The myth, propped up by McBush, was that this magical notion of off shore drilling would suddenly push us into a new age of energy independence (a.k.a. we don't have to give our gas money to the Middle East) where we would thrive on our fuel...Up to ten years before anyone sees a drop of that gas. Put that money into anything-amtrack, wind power, solar power, and the newest of new ideas. I'm not the scientist, but I love the hypothetical, and to watch it be thrown away.
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