McCain Lies About Oil Drilling and the Media Yawns
I don't really see how there is any serious prospect for solving either our energy security problem or our climate problem if the traditional media doesn't do any policing whatsoever of statements by major politicians. Here is McCain yesterday:
"... it will be vital that we continue oil production at a high level including offshore drilling. Now, the briefings that I have had with the oil producers, there are some instances that within a matter of months, they could be getting additional oil."
Standing in front of a large California oil drill, in what appears to be filming of a new movie, There Will Be Lies, McCain went so far as to say:
But there's abundant resources in the view of the people who are in the business that could be exploited within a period of months. So offshore drilling is something we have to do.
Okay, I can understand why he believes whatever stuff the oil producers make up -- they are lining his pockets now. And I understand the three reasons that McCain would lie to the public:
- His original "placebo" argument wasn't very compelling: "Even though it may take some years, the fact that we are exploiting those reserves would have a psychological impact that I think is beneficial."
- The truth is even less compelling: Ending the moratorium on coastal drilling holds no serious promise of reducing gasoline prices for US consumers even a single penny two decades from now according to Bush's own energy analysts (see "The cruel offshore-drilling hoax").
- Since he has no actual plan for getting us out of the economic mess Bush got us into, McCain is now going so far as "framing his support for expanded offshore drilling and other energy proposals as economic stimulants in an effort to woo voters concerned about the floundering economy" (Greenwire 7/29, subs. req'd). Seriously!
But why does the media let a major party candidates get away with such disinformation? And it is disinformation. As a U.S. Energy Information Administration analyst told me earlier this month:
... the constraints on offshore drilling have little to do with the price of oil, but a lot to do with timing. Once the leases are available, it is a 5 to 10 years before you get to exploratory drilling. There is a tremendous shortage of drilling rigs and manpower. Plus, offshore drilling is so expensive, you don't want to make any mistakes. So you spend do a lot of seismic analysis to minimize your chances of a dry well.
And it is probably another five or more years from drilling your exploratory well to getting significant production from the area -- and that assumes you didn't dig a dry well. If you did, then you are probably going to be even more cautious. And all that assumes you have developed a pipeline infrastructure for delivering the oil. But the Atlantic Coast lacks such an infrastructure, so who knows how long it would take to get its oil?
On top of that, California won't allow drilling off its coast anytime soon. And Sen. Martinez won't allow drilling off Florida's coast anytime soon. And Big Oil has tens of billions of barrels of oil yet to find and retrieve from the Gulf of Mexico leases that were opened up two years ago.
So McCain's claim is spin wrapped in a lie wrapped in a hoax.
If there is no penalty in the public arena for lying, then we're just going to get more and more of it.
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The solution to this debate has a simple solution. Allow them to drill, but modify the terms of the lease to say that every drop of oil, every cc of natural gas, every last product that comes from federal land, may only be sold in the USA. None of it can be sold overseas. This will ensure that we actually get the resources that are there, and that it is not merely an asset grab that we get nothing from.
In the end It may or may not provide any oil to us, but at least it wont turn the coastline into a tarball just so Exxon can sell the product to China.
can't mexico try the same thing?
after all, their oil production is in steep decline
why not stop exporting to us early to mitigate their future disaster
They should! Everyone needs to get off the dime and protest this scam! There is no excuse to avoid taking responsibility for your future..an
Anyone who owns something may determine for themselves the terms of a lease. It is their right. If you want to lease something, you either agree to the lease terms, or go away.
The media wants to boost McCain as much as they can in order to have a tight, exhilarating race - so that everyone will watch their shows and the stupid commentary.
Agreed....
The media is just trying to sell papers. It would be extremely easy to make McCain look bad but why would they do that? They need us to tune in every day.
Same thing with these polls everyone hears so much about. People can do a poll in areas they know will get certain results. These results can be skewed so easily one way or the other. If the polls reflected Obama leading by 40% there would be no more interest. Who would care if it changed day to day by 10% if it really didn't change the outcome?
We really need to change the way we get information because the media is not interested in reporting it anymore.
What McCain is trying to give us is a continuation of the Bush/Cheney oil policy -- give Big Oil whatever they want and then watch their profits grow. No focus on alternative energy resources (other than nuclear), no focus on power consumption regulation, and no focus on a windfall profits tax while people are struggling with higher fuel and grocery costs. In order to keep selling us this same old formula for disaster, McCain has to shift the blame from Bush/Cheney to somewhere else -- as long is he's going to lie about it, might as well go for the whopper and blame Obama. The sad thing is some people are buying into the lie and the MSM hasn't called him on it. McCain is pushing the same old failed policy that got us to this point to begin with!
Please articulate and define who and where - the "Big Oil"'s you reference.
Why hasn't the Media questioned McCain like they did Obama while he was in the Middle East ?Why hasn't the Fair and Balanced Media ,and Talk show Jaw Bumpers questioned McCain at all on this article ...Sen. McCain Taking Advice on Housing & Energy from a Key Player in the Subprime Crisis and Rising Gas Prices,Gramm's Deregulation Efforts Played A Major Role in the Subprime Mortgage Crisis at http://www
I hate the MSM. They have stopped doing their job and let their corporate slim bosses do their thinking for them. They no longer have the guts to stand up to power so they pick up their little pay check and go to their little home like the scared little dogs they are. When ever I see the news on TV I always remember what little integrity they have so I don't believe them and get my own news through the Internet. Even local news is affected by the corporate slant.
Yeah. Media yawns, alright.
That's because Media is not about providing news and information. Media is not about serving the public good in exchange for using the public's airwaves.
Media is all about chasing advertising revenue and serving their corporate masters and partisan political puppeteers.
Until we can change the laws that govern use of the public airwaves and the role of all media, broadcast, cable, and print, in providing FACTUAL and OBJECTIVE information to the public, we should consider pushing for disclaimers and disclosures to accompany every Mainstream Media "news" cast.
"The Following Is For Entertainment Purposes Only And Should Not Be Taken As Factual"
That should be flashed in big, easy-to-read letters across the screen for a full 20 seconds before, after, and during every Fox "news" cast.
Second that motion!
QUESTION #1: How many gallons per day do the US contractors consume per day in Iraq? How many gallons per day do the US contractors use just to import gasoline for the US military?
QUESTION #2: How many gallons per day do our Allies use in Iraq?
QUESTION #3: Presently 23 million acres of Federal owned land (on and off shore) produces 1.6 million/ba
QUESTION #4: What EFFECT will drilling offshore or in Anwar have on gasoline prices in the next year? Two years? Five years? Ten years?
QUESTION #5: When Senators are talking about additional offshore and Anwar drilling WHY do they never assure their constituents that any additional oil find will NEVER be sold to anyone other than America? There is NO assurance that the natural resources of this country will stay in this country?
QUESTION # 6: How would the waste from crushing oil from shale be disposed? Will the processing cause “acid rain” that will leak into our ground water like the use of cyanide leaching in the processing of gold?
QUESTION # 7: How much electricity would be used in the processing of oil from shale? What does the increased power usage do to today’s supply constraints? What effect will the increased power usage have on Global Warming?
Seems obvious, but most are not aware. By the way, you hit the nail on the head.
question #3 is a stupid question.
some of that land may have a little oil but probably not much so they're in no hurry to retreive it.
it's a bad argument for dems to make from a geology stand point
first you need either an anticline, a reverse fault, or a salt dome (these features do not have to be visible on land)
then you need source rock
the source needs to have been below the oil window at one time
and reserve rock
then you need to consider porousity and permeability (if it's not porous or permeable enought -- forget it)
then you need cap rock (that doesn't leak) to trap the oil
if anyone of those conditions are not met, you will not find any oil
question #6 and #7 Oil Shale is worthless.
The only argument against uncapping the thousands of wells that are available there..if that is what you're talking about..is that it might cost more to extract the oil..perio
Because of increased "power usage" there's a lurking possibility (not probability) we might see a 1/500th degree raise in temperature by 2050.
Weather or not...it happens.
After nearly eight years of not doing "any policing whatsoever of statements by major politicians" (see: Bush Administration), there's no coherent reason to expect they'll start now and wreck the curve for their profession.
If they couldn't smell the skunk in the pantry in 2003, nothing will capture their attention today. Most understand that they're actually the public entertainment committee for their respective advertising sales departments.
Yes but do not forget the SON of MIKE Wallace, who has a Jeykl/Hyde personality.
the problem here is that people look at McCain and Obama and think that they are being biased in presenting Obama in a favorable light because they dont want to seem liberally biased.
well, the facts show obama the better candidate and to try to depict otherwise is just a disservice
Since I have two close family members in the oil industry, I'll give you their take. The last significant data on the offshore potential is nearly thirty years old. The industry has significant leases and significant data on onland potential oil which could come on line in a matter of months, yet they hammer on offshore. They have the available technology to reach the onland stuff, as well, and in greater numbers of rigs, etc.
Their take on it is that the industry is so damned accustomed to getting what they want and demanding what they think they want, that they are fixated on the offshore drilling. There has been some significant drilling in the Gulf, in that two offshore rigs are coming on line, and shall be completely on line in the fall, which shall have so much natural gas from those two platforms, that the United States shall see over eight percent more in natural gas in our supply, and from the United States, and it shall be very interesting to see if there is an adjustment in prices, as my family expects that there shall be some king of KINK in the supply to justify higher costs for generation of electricity and for use in home heating this winter.
All is good and well, but what about producing a car that gets better mileage. Seems to me that
would be first on the list and then we tackle the oil. The US was big on oil early in this century so
what happened? What happened to our American Oil Companies? Why can't we import a
German VW GTI Diesel which gets 66 mpgs whereas our very same model here gets 41 mpgs.
Something is screaming to high heaven. But then you were asleep when congress passed the
last energy bill, calling for 35 mpgs by 2020. Seems to me we address everthing backwards.
Wake up now!
Vippy can't agree with you more.
I want to see better gas mileage as well. The American care manufacturers are still fighting absurdly low mileage standards, even though that is exactly what is selling.
I read a recent article on Tesla, the expensive electric car which is coming into production at $100,000.
However, the CEO said that they feel that they can have an auto, due to increased production and standardization, in two years, which shall cost under $30,000 and go perhaps as far as 230 miles on a charge, be charged at night when the load is lower on electricity and there is excess production available and that with a small solar panel added at home for recharging, could be recharged for perhaps half of its' power per week.
It is going to take hundreds of these advances and different approaches to get us to where we need to be.
these family members aren't good with numbers are they
what do they do, are they janitors?
the oil that's left in this country is not a lot
this country is in terminal decline and offshore oil, or any scraps that remain on land will not change that
ever heard of Peak Oil?
or M. King Hubbert?
if your family members aren't taking out the trash, they should know who thwy are.
M. Romm, the MSM is suffering from a bad case of locked jaw from all the yawnings. I'm saying this to correct you when you say they are yawning now. The truth is they are just stuck that way and have been for a while now :)
Good reporting though and thank you for that :)
An especially damaging challenge for Fox contributors, hosts
"Prove to your viewers, that oil recovered off America's shores, will only be sold inside the United States".
We get oil from the middle east because it is so easy to get. I saw a geologist once compare the amount of oil in the middle east to that in the rest of the world. He used a sponge. If you have to wring out the sponge and get a few drops, that's how wells work in most of the world. You have to drill sideways and pressure the hole in some way to force out the oil. For the Middle east, he put the sponge in a bowl full of water, soaked the sponge, and then pulled it out and let it pour water. Then he gave it a big squeeze as more water gushed out.
I had a friend from Saudi Arabia once who didn't even know what an oil pump was. And he worked for an oil company! We have them all over East Texas. Mostly rusted.
We have a few ways here in the U.S. to keep oil prices lower.
1. Use less. It's working allready
2. Buy from the Saudis and others over there and give them whatever they want. They are the last ones who want to overcharge us. We are their best customers. The take over and run it ourselves method hasn't worked very well.
3. Make sure the dollar stays strong. if we will stop putting idiots in charge, the rest of the world might start trading dollars again and make it worth something.
We don't get our oil from the Saudis, we get #1 from Canada, #2 from Mexico and #3 from Venezuela. Europe gets it from the Saudis. We get some but we can't really make that claim.
Besides why are oil well owners in TX and OK only pumping 500 gal a month and get paid much like the farmers do for not producing? Odd, very odd. Seems like they are stronger forces behind it all. Since 3 oil speculators have been caught cheating millions I noticed the price of oil is
dropping. Congress did finally deal with the Commodities Futures Modernziation Act but why so
late - because they were getting rich off it. Not a perfect bill but it will do for now.
And have you asked yourself why congress always looks out for themselves and never ever for
the people?
Thanks for pointing out the Number ONE "foreign" oil supplier is CANADA.
Most people in the US believe that it is Saudi Arabia. The politicians want us to believe that to justify their foreign policy. Like if we don't have total domination of the Middle East ourselves and via our surrogate Israel (and vice versa; we are a surrogate for them) then the flow of oil will stop and cripple our nation utterly.
Nonsense!
I don't like T. Boone Pickens, but his TV ads about harnessing wind power on the American plains makes sense to me.
Get OFF the oil tit!
getting oil from mexico isn't a good thing in the long run
their exports are dropping because they are in terminal decline
their oil production is in steep decline
canadian oil is ok for now but their tar sands are almost useless
production rates are very low and always will be
and they rely on lost of water and natural gas to produce them
natural gas in North America already peaked
and each year we must drill more wells just to maintain production
texas at one time did not have to pump out it's oil
remember pictures of those gushers? that was from oil under pressure.
they have to pump now because it's not under that kind of pressure anymore, the cork from the Champaign bottle was removed and now they need straws to pump it out.
those grasshoppers are not a good sign. it means it's an old field.
texas has been in terminal decline for a long time and has already pumped 3/4 of it's oil (on land).
texas and californian oil fields are nearly tapped out, so we're desperate for offshore oil
KSA doesn't need to pump oil out of the ground like we do yet
when KSA and the rest of the middle east start using grasshoppers, then we're in real trouble unless we develop realistic alternatives
when you really get desperate you move into secondary and then tertiary production
Talk about the mother of all red herring issues! The media and supporters of new off-shore drilling are apparently unable to wrap their minds around the simplest aspects of this issue. Perhaps they all need to pay closer attention to those who actually know what they are talking about. Take, for example, this excerpt of a recent op-ed by Senator Joe Biden,
“Unfortunately, President Bush and Sen. John McCain are trying to sell us on the oil companies' old argument that repealing the 27-year old moratorium on drilling in protected areas offshore will lower gas prices. Americans need to put this tired debate to rest. Our security -- both here at home and abroad -- depends on it.
“First, the oil companies in this country now hold 7,000 leases to drill offshore, yet only 20 percent of those leases are producing oil. That is 68 million acres for which they already have the rights to drill. Nearly 80 percent of our offshore oil is already available for leasing -- approximately 54 billion barrels total. They could be drilling in these areas, but they are not.”
What about this statement of fact is so difficult for the media, and supporters of new off-shore drilling, to understand?
http://www
People in this country watch American Idol, WWF, Dr Phil, and think "That's ENTERTAINMENT!" Do you really think they can understand something as complex as the reasons oil is so expensive? Do they even WANT to know? The MSM and politicos play us for dumb asses, and for the most part, they're right.
I'm afraid you're right. My family is a perfect example of the divide in the nation.
My oldest daughter watches TV for entertainment only. She reads voraciously: novels. She uses the internet to shop, post on mySpace, email friends. She is completely disinterested in politics. She is of voting age. A smart girl, but she puts her attention anywhere BUT politics and/or civics.
My youngest daughter watches PBS News Hour, Countdown with Olbermann, researches EVERYTHING on the internet, is a passionate environmental activist and a strong Obama supporter. She couldn't care less about Hollyweird, Celeb cutlure etc. She also is of voting age.
There you have it. A microcosm of cultural divide.
Click here to visit Fact-Check: http://www
It recounts 6 major lies that John McCain has told about Obama or Obama's record this month alone, re:
* Obama's supposed "snubbing" of wounded troops
* Castro's supposedly glowing opinion of Obama
* Obama's culpability for high gas prices
* Obama's votes to fund American soldiers
* the effects of Obama's small business-friendly tax policies
* the effects Obama's working class-friendly tax policies
Has the McCain campaign talked about anything else this month? Has McCain talked about anything that he hasn't also lied about?
After 7 years of Bush and Cheney leading the country, we need a president who has some respect for facts and truth to begin to solve the messes Republican leadership has put us in.
We do not need another liar in the White House.
Vote for "Angry Bush" McCain only if you want more of the same.
With all best wishes,
Amy
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