You didn't really believe Barack Obama when he said if we all inflated our tires to the proper level we could save as much oil as we would gain from offshore drilling, did you?
At least, you probably didn't unless you happen to belong to the same political party as Obama.
You did believe him? Oh, okay.
Well, for the rest of us, his statement probably didn't even make it past the smell test; I know it didn't for me.
And before I could start doing some research yesterday, I came across this piece from the Weekly Standard blog that does run the numbers.
They found that a best-case scenario for tire inflation would save us about 6% of what is already produced from offshore drilling, or about 4/10 of one percent of all the oil we use.
Wow. What energy leadership we see from Barack Obama. Let's just skip the election and coronate him right now as Most Beneficent One.
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Thursday, August 07, 2008
Obama Tire Inflation Energy Plan is Full of Air
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2 comments:
I'll take your Weekly Standard Link and raise it with ABC news which states that proper tire inflation will save on average 800,000 barrels a day starting immediately. I will then add the Governments own estimation of the effect of new offshore drilling which puts 200,000 barrels of oil onto the world market no sooner than 9 years from now (2.4 million in 2017 up from the current 2.2 million).
Add to that, John McCain's own admission yesterday that proper inflation is actually a good idea and the fact that Obama does actually have a real energy plan not involving proper tire inflation and the GOP talking point that you are regurgitating becomes more of a joke than the $25 tire gauges that McCain is pawning off on his supporters.
Read beyond the DNC talking points, Bob. Not everyone is running around with sputtering cars and flat tires. Only about 1/4 of the cars out there would even be affected by potential savings projections.
The ABC piece you linked to admits that Obama's air plan wouldn't even come close to equaling what we currently get from offshore, much less what we'd get if we got serious about offshore drilling and tapped these resources to their fullest potential.
No one is saying you shouldn't keep your tires inflated properly (I check mine frequently). But to bill that as a serious part of your energy plan is an empty shirt--just like Obama's entire resume.
Just indicating the U.S. was serious about tapping new oil sources would instantly lower the market price as market forces saw new supply on the horizon. Price is, of course, based partially on projected future supply.
And while you libs love to pooh-pooh the amount of time it will take to get new oil reserves into our gas tanks, the stark truth is that if we had been drilling 10 years or more ago when conservatives were calling for it, we'd already have this new oil on tap.
Instead of learning from your mistakes, liberals always insist on perpetuating them. That's why liberals shouldn't be placed in any position of authority higher than assistant dog catcher.
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