Idea of drilling sent prices down

Editor’s note: This letter has been corrected since its publication. The original version attributed an executive order banning offshore oil drilling to the wrong president.

A Friday article by Eric Fetters claimed that the recent drop in gasoline prices was caused by Americans driving less. While conservation can help somewhat on the demand side, the fact is, to paraphrase a favorite liberal mantra, “We can’t conserve our way out of this.” Not by keeping our tires inflated or with regular, expensive tune-ups.

I take issue with the conclusion that it was conservation that caused the price of gas to drop. It ignores the fact that President Bush rescinded President George H.W. Bush’s moratorium on drilling off our continental shelves, and the price of crude fell by more than $7 the next trading day! It continued to fall from $147 to the $120s!

It defies logic that it would be the long-term effect of conservation that caused the price to drop so precipitously after the president spoke. What caused that fall was oil futures traders realizing that we may get serious about developing our domestic oil supply. I think it is much more likely that the market is poised for us to shake off the shackles of fanatical environmentalism and is eager to reward us at the smallest sign that we are standing up for our future.

Now, if the 200 million Americans who believe we should be developing our offshore and Alaskan oil reserves and other energy resources would send the message to Congress to drop its moratorium, we would be well on the way to solving this energy problem, not just patching it! For every penny the price of fuel rises, for every vacation we don’t take, for every time we decline to go out to eat, our economy takes a hit, as is amply illustrated by the recent downturn in our economy.

Curt Greer

Marysville