oil

Obama releases new ad blasting’s McCain’s ties to oil industry

The campaign 2008 energy ad wars continue, delving deeper into negative territory. Today, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama released a new television ad accusing GOP rival John McCain of being in the pocket of Big Oil. The ad highlights the astronomical profits that oil companies have recently reported, and the roughly $2 million in campaign […]

Coastal governors stand in the way of offshore drilling, even if Congress approves it

President Bush keeps repeating his call for Congress to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling. Republican presidential candidate John McCain is consistently drilling home the same message. And on Wednesday of last week, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said that just in case the ban is lifted, his department is laying the groundwork so offshore drilling […]

The jig is up

Mainstream news is catching on to Big Oil greenwashing:

McCain says he trusts Big Oil over energy and economic experts

John McCain said today that he believes what Big Oil says about the amount of oil still available in the United States’ outer continental shelf, rather than estimates offered by energy experts, economists, and the government’s Energy Information Administration. A questioner in the crowd at the National Urban League conference in Orlando, Fla., asked the […]

The WSJ alleges that our use of hybrids increases oil prices

The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog is a must-read. But what exactly were they thinking with this column:

So you think you're being virtuous by trading in the SUV for, say, a Prius? What if, instead, you're really sticking the next guy in line with higher pump prices?

Yes, The WSJ is revoking the law of supply and demand. Less demand translates into higher pump prices! How is this possible, you ask?

Conservatives will drill-and-burn this planet to the point of destruction

Great Paul Krugman column in The New York Times today. And another absurd Charles Krauthammer column in The Washington Post -- yes, I know, that's a dog bites man story.

They both teed off Nancy Pelosi's statement that one of the reasons she was blocking a vote on coastal drilling was, "I'm trying to save the planet; I'm trying to save the planet."

Krugman understood that, notwithstanding the fact that offshore drilling would never have a significant impact on oil prices, she was talking about global warming: "Beyond that, Ms. Pelosi's response shows that she understands the deeper issues behind the current energy debate."

As Krugman points out, that point is utterly lost on Senator McCain, who has now become "a standard drill-and-burn Republican." Krugman's worry:

Marketplace commentary gives a misleading picture of government’s role in energy use

In a commentary on Thursday's Marketplace, the Cato Institute's Will Wilkinson critiqued T. Boone Pickens' new energy plan. In doing so, he painted a misleading picture of the government's role in our energy usage.

Pickens wants wind energy to replace natural gas in electricity generation, and use the freed-up natural gas to fuel vehicles so we can use less foreign oil. There are problems with this energy plan, but Wilkerson is most concerned that the government might be "picking a winner" if it helps Pickens realize his scheme. (Wilkerson doesn't specify exactly what Pickens wants the government to do, but Reuters reports that under the Pickens plan, the government would need to create power transmission corridors.)

Wilkerson doesn't seem to think the government should get involved; his criticism of the Pickens Plan is that it's "not about offering you, the consumer, a choice." This is where he overlooks one crucial factor in the energy puzzle. He says:

More oil can be found in your car than offshore

How much oil can be found in Americans' cars -- through more efficient driving and better vehicle maintenance? Using current numbers from the Bush DOE and EPA, the answer appears to be some 2.5 to 3 million barrels a day -- 20 times what could be found if we ended the congressional moratorium on offshore drilling (see "The cruel offshore-drilling hoax") and three times the oil we are likely to find in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (see "Opening ANWR cuts gas prices two cents in 2025").

These savings would quickly lower Americans' annual fuel bills perhaps $700 a year, whereas drilling might save them about $12 a year in 20 years.

But let me begin at the beginning. Obama, as everyone knows, has presented detailed national strategies to reduce oil consumption as part of his climate plan months ago. Now the right wing is all agog at some remarks Obama made yesterday about what individuals can do:

We could save all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling if everybody was just inflating their tires and getting regular tune-ups. You could save just as much.

Limbaugh said:

This is unbelievable! My friends, this is laughable of course, but it's stupid! It is stupid! … Avoid jackrabbit starts, keep your tires properly inflated, there's a list of about ten or twelve these things. I said if I follow each one of these things I'll have to stop the car every five miles, siphon some fuel out, for all the fuel I'm going to be saving. This is ridiculous…. Who has filled his head with this stuff?

Actually, it is probably the Bush administration's own Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency that has filled him with that stuff. Let's do the math.

ExxonMobil rakes in record cash, spends only 1 percent on alternative energy

ExxonMobil broke its own record for the highest quarterly earnings in U.S. history, reporting $11.7 billion in profits for the second quarter. And as ABC reports, the company spent only 1 percent of its profits last year on alternative energy sources. “They’re probably spending more on the advertising than they’re actually spending on the actual […]