Fox 13's John Wilson just reported that we have as much oil as Saudi Arabia.

[madfloridian]

Apparently he meant off the shore of Florida. I sat there enthralled because it really hit me. They have already won this issue of offshore drilling.

It was amazing, really. He gave the percentages showing that most people favored more drilling, and the ones who did not favor it were not sure what was going on.

I don't even know where to begin to debunk that. They say the bigger you make the lie, the easier it is to swallow. That was a whopper.

I wrote previously that our Democrats would likely go along with this issue.

Despite the fact that US oil companies are selling more overseas..our Democrats are inclined to go along.

A record 1.6 million barrels a day in U.S. refined petroleum products were exported during the first four months of this year, up 33 percent from 1.2 million barrels a day over the same period in 2007. Shipments this February topped 1.8 million barrels a day for the first time during any month, according to final numbers from the Energy Department.

The surge in exports appears to contradict the pleas from the U.S. oil industry and the Bush administration for Congress to open more offshore waters and Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.

Also our Democrats are wavering.

A group of House lawmakers are looking to replicate an effort among Senate centrists by bypassing their party leaders and putting together a compromise plan to address gas prices. Reps. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, and John Peterson, R-Pa., are gathering a group of rank-and-file lawmakers — preferably split evenly between the two parties — for a meeting Monday in the hopes of quickly piecing together a legislative package. They plan to formally announce the group’s formation Tuesday.

“There is an effort that’s going on among members to try to … put together something that makes sense and is balanced,” Natural Resources Energy Subcommittee Chairman Jim Costa, D-Calif., said. Costa was one of 19 Democrats, predominately from oil and gas producing districts, who voted against a “use-it-or-lose it” plan sponsored by Democratic leaders shortly before the Independence Day recess.

Do we have more oil than Saudi Arabia? Damned if I know. Do you know? Could you debunk it when a Tampa Fox anchor just spouts it as fact?

[flvegan]

1. Wilson has been shilling for them for a couple weeks now.

When they first dragged this issue back out, I watched him jump right into it. The whole "China is already doing it right off our coast" thing made me need to change the channel before I lost my lunch.

[Contrary1]

2. 40 Billion Barrels In Montana

"Montana's governor Brian Schweitzer tells John Crudele at the New York Post that he has the solution to the oil crisis right in his backyard: 40 billion barrels of oil--that's billion, not million--ready to drill in the state's Bakken region. And unlike the NIMBYs everywhere else in the country, the governor says, Montana citizens are eager to help the country out by building a refinery..."

Saudi Arabia has reserves of 260 billion barrels.

http://www.clusterstock.com/2008/5/oil_crisis_solved_montana_governor_says_he_has_40_billion_barrels_ready_to_drill

[madfloridian]

5. Well, Floridians are shown on TV sounding patriotic about new drilling...

and pointing out to sea proudly.

They have even turned it into a issue of patriotism.

[elehhhhna]

9. they're desperate for new jobs...Jebbie crashed their whole state

[MercutioATC]

6. As much as I like Schweitzer, analyses vary...

...if Montana's portion of the Bakken Formation mimics the whole formation, real recovery is more likely to be between 1% and 50% of current estimates.

(it's shale oil, not big pools of goo..density varies greatly)

[madfloridian]

10. Your little bug thing drives me crazy. I want to brush it off.

:rofl:

[MercutioATC]

12. Ahhh, I love these responses. :)

I've been feeling ornery for the past week, so I changed to my current sigline. The problem is that it annoys me too, so I'll probably be getting rid of it in the near future.

[exothermic]

7. As of now, it takes about as much energy to produce from the Bakken

as the recovered oil contains. It -may- never be return-on-energy viable.

[Ian David]

3. Even *if* that were true, that oil is much harder to get to. It costs more money and costs more OIL.

All those pumps that take oil out of the ground are powered by oil.

Also, please remember...


REMINDER: Katrina oil spills may be among worst on record (113 offshore platforms destroyed)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=3482695

[summer borealis]

4. What's funny is how they all imagine

... that's "OUR" oil. When in fact it's oil company oil.

[spanone]

8. the faux comedy network is always saying silly shit

[Fuzz]

11. New talking point. Shale oil now 'counts'. Hannity has been talking

it up, others have as well. Even though I don't think the technology is there yet, and it's not like we'll be using it here anyway.

[madfloridian]

13. Local media still pushing this stuff.

Most are not as obvious as John Wilson, but never the less...the media is showing great respect for big oil.