Is this the best the GOP can do? (Part 1)

John Sidney McCain III.

Today the average price for gasoline is $3.18 a gallon. And for all the talk of "Global Warming" and "green technologies", the truth is that America's consumption is increasing. So if demand is increasing (and it is) then the only way to lower prices is to increase supply.

How do we do increase supply without increasing our dependence on foreign oil? Well, according to a 1998 United States Geological Service (USGS) survey, there is anywhere from 4.3 to 11.8 BILLION (with a "b") recoverable barrels of oil and gas in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). [First paragraph at the top of page 4] And according to this source: 2005 USGS update states modern technology will increase 1998 figures and lessen any impact on environment.

Consider this: During the 1973 oil crisis, the U.S. imported only 35% of its oil. The crisis was caused by a decline of only 3%. Currently we import over 60% of our oil.

(Take your time, read that last paragraph again and then you do the math.)

We went from importing an average of 5,861 barrels a month in 1990 to importing approximately 10,158.5 barrels of oil a month in 2007. You can crunch the numbers yourself from the charts here.

Years ago, the Bush Administration proposed (then pushed again in 2004 and again in 2005)that we make the investment to retrieve this (domestic) oil. In 2002 the McDowell Group of Anchorage Alaska conducted an Economic Impact Assessment and they concluded that ANWR development would create 11,000 new jobs for Alaska (just during the construction phase) and that retreival, etc. of the oil "would create between 17,000 – 38,000 jobs depending on the price per barrel at that time." And that it was possible that "peak performance" could show close to $800 million dollars a year for the state of Alaska.

Jobs, man. John Sidney McCain III has to be for creating jobs and decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, right? Wrong.

John Sidney McCain III (JSM3) has said As far as ANWR is concerned, I don’t want to drill in the Grand Canyon, and I don’t want to drill in the Everglades. This is one of the most pristine and beautiful parts of the world.

No. No. NO.

The Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is NOT the Grand Canyon, ANWR is NOT the Everglades and ANWR is NOT "pristine". But you know what? That's not important. Because even if ANWR *was* "pristine" it just - doesn't - matter.

Look at this picture.

You get it?

Not yet?

Okay. Go here and look at slides 3, 4 & 5. If that link doesn't work copy and paste this http://www.anwr.org/features/pdfs/ANWR_Powerpoint_8-11-06.pdf into your "Address" bar and seriously, look at slides 3, 4 & 5. If you have time, check out all 27 slides.

If you still don't understand why we really should drill in ANWR then congratulations - you're as smart as a Senator!