June 20, 2008

Subject:

Rep. Calvert Asks You: Should We Expand Offshore Energy Exploration? 

Dear Friends,

The topic on everyone’s mind right now is the obscenely high price of gasoline which is now averaging above $4.60 per gallon in our area.  In 2006, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D- San Francisco) told Americans she had a “common-sense” plan to reduce the price of gasoline and yet here we are two years later still feeling the pain at the pump. 

The dramatic rise in the price of gasoline is largely a result of supply and demand imbalances that are affecting worldwide oil prices.  Currently, the price of oil makes up more than 70% of the cost of a gallon of gasoline.  While efforts can and are being made to curb the demand for oil and gasoline here in the U.S., many of these steps are being negated by increased oil demands in foreign countries like India and China.  Therefore, the most meaningful step we can take to decrease prices is to increase oil supplies here domestically through enhanced exploration of our resources.

Estimates show that offshore exploration would yield 86 billion barrels of oil and vast quantities of natural gas.  Over the past few decades, advances in exploration technology and increased regulatory safety measures have made it possible to conduct exploration offshore that is out of sight, protects the environment and prevents oil spills.  In fact, over the past 20 years, less than .001 percent of the oil produced in U.S. state and federal waters have been spilled.

I’d like to hear your feedback on the possibility of lifting the longstanding moratorium on domestic energy production offshore on the Outer Continental Shelf off of our Atlantic and Pacific coasts.  Most of the proposals being advanced in Congress would still prohibit exploration within the line of sight from the shore and therefore allow exploration only beginning at 25 miles from the coast.  Additionally, some proposals give coastal states, such as California, the option of allowing new energy exploration off of their coasts.  Please take a couple minutes to fill out the survey on the left-hand side of this e-newsletter.

Our dependence on oil, especially foreign oil, is a long-term energy security problem.  The U.S. must move away from an oil based energy economy and fully embrace viable alternative fuels.  However, the development, perfection and integration of new alternative fuels into the economy is a lengthy process.  In the short-term, developing our own resources is our most urgent priority. 

Again, I appreciate your feedback and feel free to visit my website at www.calvert.house.gov to learn more about my stance on the issues.

Sincerely,

KEN CALVERT

Member of Congress