By far the most promising site for oil in America is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Technology now makes it possible to reach the oil reserves in ANWR by drilling on just 2,000 of the 19 million acres. Developing this tiny area could eventually yield up to a million barrels of oil every day -- and that million barrels of oil a day would be -- would make us less dependent on foreign sources of energy. Thanks to technology, we can reach ANWR's oil with almost no impact on the land or local wildlife. To make America less dependent, Congress needs to pass a pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-environment development of ANWR. It makes sense. It is an important part of a comprehensive strategy.
--George W. Bush, "President Discusses Energy Policy," 2005
Why are gas prices so high? If you ask George W. Bush, he'll tell you it's Congress's fault. "One of the main reasons for high gas prices is that global oil production is not keeping up with growing demand,” Bush said last month. “Members of Congress have been vocal about foreign governments increasing their oil production, yet Congress has been just as vocal in opposition to efforts to expand our production here at home."
Bush's solution was what Bush's solution always is -- drill in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). According to him, this would "likely mean lower gas prices."
The Washington Post called this a return to "first-term answers to rising gas prices." Bush has always wanted to drill in ANWR, despite the fact that there's a thimble-full of oil up there. Drilling in Alaska has been like tax cuts for George W. Bush -- whatever the problem, it's the solution. When the economy's doing well, tax cuts are needed to keep it going. When the economy's doing poorly, tax cuts are needed to fix it. There is never a time when tax cuts -- especially the radically top-heavy cuts favored by Bush -- are not the answer to the problem.
So it's been with drilling in ANWR. When we're too dependent on foreign oil, we need to drill in ANWR. When prices are too high, we have to drill in ANWR. If the weather report predicts patchy clouds, we have to drill in ANWR. No matter what the problem, the puddle of oil under the Alaskan wilderness is the answer...
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