What’s A World Market?

by digby

The half term Governor tells us all that we need to accept the risk of oil spills because:

Production of our own resources means security for America and opportunities for American workers. We need oil, and if we don’t drill for it here, we have to purchase it from countries that not only do not like America and can use energy purchases as a weapon against us, but also do not have the oversight that America has.

How’s that oversight working out for ya? (Yes, I know — but I just can’t help it.)

Democrats like our president have spread this patent nonsense, so I can’t just blame Sister Sarah. But nonsense it is:

“Right now the price of oil is set on the global market,” says Kevin Lindemer, executive managing director of the energy markets group for the research firm Global Insight. [Offshore drilling] “would not have an impact.”

The reason is simple: the U.S. has an estimated 3% of global petroleum reserves but consumes 24% of the world’s oil. Offshore territories and public lands like ANWR that don’t allow drilling may contain up to 75 billion barrels of oil, according to the EIA. That may sound like a lot, but it’s not enough to make a significant difference in a world where global oil demand is expected to rise 30% by 2030, to nearly 120 million barrels a day. At best, greatly expanding domestic drilling might eventually lower the proportion of oil the U.S. imports — currently about 60% of its total supply — but petroleum is a global commodity, and the world market would soak up any additional American production.

Drilling makes no difference to our security or our access to cheap oil. (Even Palin must wonder why Alaskans pay some of the highest gas prices in the country.) It’s purely political pandering and contributes to the already substantial stupidity of the country on this issue. It would be more understandable if she were the only one doing it since she’s barely sentient. That people who know very well that it’s ridiculous do the same thing is truly reprehensible.

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