In news that should probably garner a Nobel Prize for economics, the Wilderness Society has decided that even if we lease more land for drilling oil, it won't lower prices. Story link here.
So we can chuck that old idea of supply and demand right out the window.
The real problem is that the increase in oil and gas prices has been so quick that the radical environmentalists have not been able to devise a strategy to convince people that we shouldn't get some of what we need here in the United States.
Their running skirmishes against the American way of life have run into a roadblock as higher gas prices have caused people to look a little harder at how we actually go about utilizing our own natural resources.
Many people are now understanding that the environmental cost of extraction is not nearly as pronounced as they were led to believe. For instance, I'm certain I will say this on numerous occasions, Congressman Steve King was recently quoted as saying that when he flew over The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- it was 700 miles until he saw a tree.
So the pristine mountain valley picture that is being painted is not correct and the methods of extraction are much more efficient and less damaging than they were even 20 years ago.
Therefore, the public must be convinced that having more supply will not lower the price -- good luck with that.
