Why Does Obama Continue to Deny Us Oil Our Economy Needs to Run?

Although the per-gallon price of gasoline has gone down some over the past few months, in some places it is still nearly double what it was when Obama took office (the price then was about $1.84). And because we rely on foreign nations for so much of the oil we use, everyone knows we’re one Middle East disruption away from seeing the price jump to well over $4 a gallon once more.

We are literally at the mercy of the Middle East because of decisions Obama has made not only to reject the Keystone Pipeline, but also to forego exploration and procurement of the rich oil supplies available in Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

Think about this: According to a 2008 study by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic could hold 90 billion barrels of oil and 1,669 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, or roughly 22 percent of the world’s undiscovered conventional oil and natural gas resources.

How many American jobs would be created in going after that 22 percent of the world’s undiscovered conventional oil and natural gas resources? 

Of course the question’s moot, because the same Obama who vetoed the Keystone Pipeline and the tens of thousands of jobs it would have created, as well as the hundreds of millions of barrels of oil it would have carried to the U.S. every day, is also saying “no” to Alaska’s OCS.

Our West coast, especially California, is particularly hard hit by the lack oil coming out of Alaska, as the amount of oil flowing to the West Coast via the Alaska Pipeline is nearly one fourth of what it was at its 2 million barrel a day peak. And while it’s easy to dismiss California’s woes if you don’t live there, every state will end up having to bail them out for the excessively high energy prices they’ll face if we don’t get oil to them soon.

Whether we’re talking about California, Maine, or Kentucky, the bottom line is that the principle of the matter is wrong, wrong, wrong. The oil in Alaska’s OCS is our oil, it’s under one of our states, and the American people need it.

$3 a gallon for gasoline is a lot better than the price we were paying months ago, but it’s still too high. And it’s still far higher than it would be if Obama would quit denying us the oil we need to make our economy thrive once again.