McCain: Offshore drilling provides beneficial 'psychological impact.'»

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


And if we've let them get to the point where they can, aren't we?

You know people - I think McCain is correct on this one. Though it's not enough for me to vote for him.

I think the Media plays a big part of that psychology, and folks who want to run the prices up go on the media and explain how it's going to go up because of blah blah blah reason and the next day everyone buys oil because they think they're going to make more money - and they do.

When people perceive shortages or that the price will go up tomorrow, they run out and buy the item which further drives the price up & thus you have a self fulfilling prophecy.

I think the media inadvertently runs the prices up by talking about the prices going up everyday. Everyday they say another record high was set today - well no crap - duh - thanks for rubbing it in. I think it's much like how the media has multiplied the copy cat school shooters.

There is no oil shortage (I lived through the gas lines and closed gas stations in the 70's) , just the realization that indeed oil is limited and we are sharing it with more of the world, but we ain't in dire straits yet. In fact I predict I will be driving an alternative fueled car most the time in less than 10 years.

Yes as long as we begin to make an effort to provide more of our own oil, and an effort to drive less and begin crossover to alternative fueled cars the market will adjust itself in fear of losing business - which indeed is psychological.

I predict that if the Media were to continually run stories everyday for a couple weeks about how people are saving money by driving less, how automakers are creating products that will get over 100 mpg or not use gas at all, and how we have huge oil reserves that are not even being used - the price of oil would begin to fall. I think gas could drop over a buck in the next year or two as long as demand doesn't continue to rise.


[edit on 25-6-2008 by verylowfrequency]

reply to post by FlyersFan


No states blocked it. Remember Jeb Bush bucked his brother and opposed off shore drilling off of Florida... and Jeb is a Republican remember. That is just one example. It was states and communities that didn't want oil slicks on their beaches to drive away the tourist dollars.

Found this article:

More Offshore Drilling Does Little at the Pump: EIA

And according to the government's top energy forecaster, the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA), opening these new areas for oil drilling won't help the price of gas to go down, and if it actually can, it could take at least 5 to 10 years.

McCain and Bush said the additional oil supplies likely to be found in the closed areas would help reduce gasoline costs.

However, Guy Caruso, who heads the federal Energy Information Administration, said consumers would see little savings at the pump.

"It would be a relatively small effect, because it would take such a long time to bring those supplies on," Caruso said during a briefing at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on the EIA's new long-term international energy forecast. "It doesn't affect prices that much."

Most energy experts say it would take five to 10 years to find oil in the closed areas and bring the crude to market. Caruso said the additional supplies would amount to only a couple of hundred thousand barrels of oil a day.

So, again we have Bush, and now McCain, ignoring what other government agencies are telling them and saying the exact opposite of the the experts are telling them!

[edit on 6/26/2008 by Keyhole]