Posted On: August 13, 2008, 3:05 pm CDT

Posted By: Tom

Hey, drilling offshore or in the ANWR will not address today's gas prices one iota. First, you have to build the platforms offshore and the roads into ANWR. Second, you have to actually FIND something. Third, once you find it, you have to build the pipelines to move it. Fourth, is there excess refinery capacity at present in the United States? Refineries can take up to ten years to build and put into operation. So, if you started drilling TODAY there might be no material impact on gasoline supplies (and presumably prices) for years to come.

In addition, the campaign slogans always refer to dependence on foreign oil. Gee, why don't we buy and burn THEIRS first and leave ours for the future. Once the Saudis have no oil to sell, do you suppose we will have the time of day for them?

Having said that, the NY DOI suffers from an excess of "hubris" and tends to think that they are experts on every subject imaginable. It's obviously a politically motivated and ignorant pronouncement by the commissioner.