FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 1, 2008
Contact: Kristina Johnson, 415.977.5619
Josh Dorner, 202.675.2384
Oops, He Did It Again!
McCain Prefers Own Rhetoric to Facts,
Actual Experts on Offshore Drilling
Washington, D.C.--In Florida today, Senator John McCain said he was
convinced offshore drilling would yield immediate oil—despite hard data to
the contrary from experts like the federal government's Energy Information
Administration.
According to the EIA, it would take 7-10 years for oil to come online from
new drilling, and twenty years to reach peak production. And, as the New
York Times recently noted, because of a recent shortage in drilling
equipment, it could likely take even longer.
But McCain said:
"…So I disagree with those experts and I've talked to the actual people
that do the work, that are in the business that say within months and
certainly within a very short time, we could have additional oil supply for
this nation. So we ought to drill now." (Video HERE)
Statement of Sierra Club Political Director Cathy Duvall
"Senator McCain may 'disagree with the experts,' but that doesn't make the
facts go away. New offshore drilling simply won't provide any oil for
roughly a decade. And even then, the Bush administration itself admits that
drilling will do absolutely nothing to lower gas prices today, tomorrow, or
even two decades from now.
"Oil companies aren't interested in lowering gas prices. Keeping supply
tight and oil prices high keeps Big Oil rolling in record profits. The oil
companies are spending almost ten times more—a full 55 percent of their
record profits—on stock buybacks and dividends than they are on
exploration. This drives up the price of their shares, their profits, and
the paychecks of their executives.
"This episode is eerily reminiscent of Senator McCain's insistence that his
misguided 'gas tax holiday' would benefit consumers and not simply add to
Big Oil’s record profits. McCain and his aides continue to insist that the
230 leading economists -- including 4 Nobel Prize winners -- who denounced
his plan are simply wrong.
"We're in an energy crisis. Americans do need short-term help to offset
the cost of gas, and Senator Obama has a plan to give it to them. He has
proposed a $1,000 refund check paid for by taxing Big Oil's record profits
that would offer us immediate relief. That's something new drilling won't
do, no matter what John McCain says."
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