Morning Bell: You Can Help Free Our Energy Today
Conn Carroll /
With the nation’s unemployment rate creeping ever closer to 10%, it is not surprising that Americans continue to rank the economy as the most important issue facing the country right now. Recognizing the link between a troubled economy and energy prices, last year 1.4 million Americans signed the “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” petition demanding that the federal government enact policies that will lower our nation’s energy costs. And Congress responded by ending our nation’s quarter-century ban on oil and natural gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
But this was just the first step Americans needed to take to free our energy from the myriad of bureaucratic restriction the enviro-left has placed between consumers and cheap energy. Before the development of our natural resources can begin, the Department of Interior must approve a five-year leasing plan detailing how federal sale of oil and gas leases in the offshore waters will take place. The case for developing our own natural resources is strong. An estimated 19 billion barrels of oil–nearly 30 years of current imports from Saudi Arabia–as well as substantial natural gas reserves are estimated to lie beneath these restricted areas. According to a 2008 Center for Data Analysis study, increasing domestic oil production by 1 million barrels per day would generate 128,000 jobs. At 2 million barrels per day, that figures jump to 270,000. (more…)