Magical thinking in U.S. politics: A reality check on oil supply for Newt Gingrich
By aeberman
28 November 2011 During the CNN Republican presidential debate Tuesday, November 23, Newt Gingrich made statements about U.S. potential oil supply that reveal either total ignorance of energy or supremely dangerous demagoguery. He stated that the United States could discover and produce enough oil in 2012 to cause a worldwide oil price collapse.GINGRICH: But let me make a deeper point. There’s a core thing that’s wrong with this whole city. You said earlier that it would take too long to open up American oil. We defeated Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan in three years and eight months because we thought we were serious. If we were serious, we would open up enough oil fields in the next year that the price of oil worldwide would collapse. Now, that’s what we would do if we were a serious country. If we were serious…
(http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2011/11/cnn_republican_debate_nov_22_2.html) Earlier in the debate, when discussing the impact on Europe and the global price of oil of stopping Iranian exports through sanctioning its central bank, Gingrich said that would not be a problem. The United States would simply provide an additional 4 million barrels of oil per day to Europe to cover the Iranian shortfall. […] It seems absurd to have to rebut these preposterous statements, but here are the facts. During the week ending November 18, 2011, the US used 14.8 million barrels (Mbopd) of crude oil as input to refineries. This included 5.9 Mbopd of domestic crude oil production and 8.3 Mbopd of net crude oil imports. From this input, 18.6 Mbopd of petroleum products were produced and consumed. The U.S. would have to increase field production by more than double current production to become oil independent, by increasing domestic production to 14.8 Mbopd. Even peak production in 1970 of 10,000 bopd would only meet 68% of current crude oil consumption. To bring about a collapse in world oil prices, as Mr. Gingrich suggests, would mean increasing U.S. production by substantially more than this. […]
It's not a mistake when Republican presidential candidates make jokes about refusing to eat their vegetables; it's a direct attempt to brand themselves as regular folks like the GOP base.
The Republicans have simply abandoned adult life. They've abandoned the realities of sharing. They've abandoned the jobless, the homeless, the elderly, the sick and the environment. What they have left is a core of people outraged that they have to grow up and face facts that the other half of the U.S. accepted long ago.
Government has a job that only government does well. Private companies lie, cheat, steal, pollute and kill customers if they can earn a short term profit. There IS something called climate change that is causing increasingly large, weird disasters.
It's past time they grew up.
Gingrich is a moron. It's interesting to note how the MSM is now promoting this clown, despite his obvious idiotic statements. It's a "sell" to the Americant sheeple, who remain as stupid as ever. All they want is another (s)Elected "leader" to tickle their ears and lead them to the Promised Land.
It's disgusting. And it needs to stop.
You already know who this is.