Why drill in Alaska?

[black diamond]

I just don't see the urgency. For all the talk, we are just now starting to see demand mildly affected as gas prices hit $4. And we are paying much less than other countries. Yes I know we use more than they do, but I still think they suggest we can pay more without crumbling.

So I think if current oil prices aren't crushing us and if the world really is running out, I would rather pay more for oil now, avoid blunting incentives for development of alternatives, and then extract that Alaskan oil when prices are more like $300 a barrel. If you have an asset going up in value much faster than inflation, why sell it now if you can avoid it?

Quote from Jayford:

we need to drill and pump like mad AND pour bucks into alternatives. it takes years for the oil to come online, by why be crippled longer than we need to be.

high oil prices, if they continue, are the best thing possible for the world in the long run, cause we will shift to other technologies.

but in the mean time, until its feasible to use alternative on a large scale, the US needs to pump as much of its own as possible. they can do so in very environmental ways now as well. for example, even with the major damage to oil platforms from katrina, there were no spills. in ANWR, the total operation would cover an area smaller than disneyland.

we need to pump, especially offshore. Some of the biggest tree hugger nations in the World do it big time (Norway, Holland, Denmark).

 

[dsq]

we dont need to drill...we have way too much supply...the problem is our demand is ridiculous...we need to conserve.If we reduce our consumption by 5% ,guess what?Oil drops 30$ in a month.Sounds crazy?It just happened.
Reduced demand is by far the fastest,cheapest way to drop energy prices.