The oil industry already holds leases on some 68 million acres of offshore and onshore lands that have yet to be drilled. But in July, President Bush lifted an executive ban on oil and gas exploration in federal waters off the coasts of California, Florida and a dozen other states. A separate congressional ban, backed by the last three presidents, is still in place and protects fragile coastlines and beaches -- from New England to North Carolina's Outer Banks to Florida's Gulf coast -- from drilling-related air and water pollution, destructive docks and access roads, and the risk of devastating oil spills. The administration is urging Congress to lift the offshore drilling ban, claiming that it would drive down gas prices and boost energy security. But according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, such a move would have no significant effect on oil production until at least ten years after the start of leasing. Even then, it would produce only a few weeks' worth of oil and lower prices by just a few pennies per gallon at the pump.
Beyond the lower 48 states, the Bush Administration is using the threat of rising gas prices to renew its long-standing call to give oil companies access to the Arctic Refuge, America's premier sanctuary for polar bears, caribou, rare birds and other wildlife. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the amount of oil that could be recovered economically -- that is, the amount likely to be profitably extracted and sold -- represents less than a year's supply for the United States. In fact, President Bush's own Energy Department forecasts that drilling in the refuge would lower prices at the pump by less than four pennies per gallon, and that would be 20 years from now.
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