A Junkie On The Prowl

Presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain proposed yesterday that the U.S. end the moratorium on offshore oil drilling as a way to cut our dependence on foreign oil.  AP says GOP senators claim there are 14 billion barrels of oil to be had in offshore waters.

There’s just one small problem: 14 billion barrels of oil sounds like a lot, but it isn’t.  The U.S. consumes about 7.5 billion barrels per year, so all the oil projected to be found offshore would last us less than two years.

Oil in the ground is like money in the bank: it’s there to be used when we most need it.  But if we burn it up now for short-term gain (or short-term profit for the oil companies), then we’ll be even more dependent on foreign oil once it’s gone.  This “burn it now” mentality sounds an awful lot like the thinking of an addict: we need to have more now, no matter the cost.  And if we’re unable to moderate our oil consumption, maybe we are oil junkies.