Reader Responses

I am truly dismayed presidential candidate Barack Obama stated he is open to the possibility of offshore oil drilling.

The United States burns close to one-quarter of the world's oil, yet we only have about 3 percent of the world's oil reserves. We will never be able to drill our way to lower gas prices or energy security, even if we drilled every last drop of oil out of the ground from both offshore and onshore resources.

Contrary to the political rhetoric, today's gas prices will not go down because of new offshore drilling. Belief that more drilling will lower gas prices is a tremendous disservice to the American public. We deserve true relief from high gas and energy prices.

Even if all offshore oil magically came to market today, the vast majority of our oil will continue to come from overseas and it would only save pennies at the pump.

When President Bush opened 8 million acres to drilling in 2007 prices continued to skyrocket. Even the U.S. Energy Information Administration agrees new drilling likely will amount to a price difference of mere pennies per gallon, and not until as much as a decade from now.

The current moratorium was put in place decades ago to protect from the danger of oil spills along coastlines and beaches. Oil prices are set on the global market, so American oil is no cheaper than Saudi oil. We won't get a discount for oil drilled in the United States.

The United States must address its addiction to oil, domestic or imported. New offshore drilling will only continue to feed this addiction and stall the transition away from oil to conservation and renewable energy.

More drilling also will lead to more global warming, oil spills, environmental degradation and loss of billions of dollars in revenue for states whose coasts will be cross-hatched with oil industry infrastructure, without benefit for the American public in terms of meaningful relief from high gas and energy prices.

Renewable energy sources exist now and their use must be encouraged.

Cliff Pearson
Tyler