Here's why he deserves to be slammed.
Links used to get data:
wiki.answers.com...
www.bts.gov...
www.newton.dep.anl.gov...
www.terrain.org...
OK...
Data Used:
Average American drives 15,000 miles per year
Average American passenger vehicle fuel efficiency (I am negating semis as they generally do have proper tire inflation, etc.) is about 25 MPG
19.5 gallons of gas per barrel of oil
18 billion barrels available in offshore reserves waiting to be tapped
163 million licensed American drivers
We'll use Halequin's 3 MPG saved figure, even though I couldn't find a reliable source for that AND we'll take the huge step to assume that
everyone in America is driving around on underinflated tires that look like they just stepped out of a Donal Duck cartoon.
My argument:
15,000 M/Y @ an efficency of 25 MPG equals 600 gallons of gas per year, per person.
15,000 M/Y @ the higher efficiency of 28 MPG equals 536 gallons of gas per year, per person.
Difference of 64 gallons per year, per person. Multiply that by 163 drivers for a whopping total of 10.432 Billion gallons of gas per year saved.
Divide that by the 19.5 gallons of gas per barrel of crude for just over a half a billion barrels of oil saved per year by everyone if they get that
extra 3 MPG.
We're a FAR cry from the 18 billion barrels waiting to be pumped from the offshore fields. Even assuming all worst case scenarios, there is no
Earthly way inflating our tires, rolling up our windows, removing our NASCAR flags from our antenas, and resisting the urge to have gas spray fights
between us and the guy filling up one pump over will equate to the same benefit we will get from approving drilling in these locations. Obama is an
ass.