Energy Myths

[part 3]
Many in Congress seem either disconnected from reality or intentionally disingenuous about our energy crunch. They have well-honed negative responses to common-sense ideas about solving our energy crisis.

These responses are based on a number of widely held myths. Sadly, they've somehow [read: media] become the backbone of our energy 'policy'. They include:

• "Even if drilling works, it'll take a decade or more for the oil to flow."

This is quite an argument coming from a Party, which has made keeping oil off the market a linchpin of its energy policy for decades. Even so, the larger point is false anyway.

The impact on prices will be immediate. Why? Because markets would suddenly have to discount future oil prices for the expected gain in oil supply. That would cause oil prices, especially in futures markets, to drop.

By the way, this isn't just conjecture. President Reagan, within a week of his inaugural in 1981, removed domestic controls on oil. Energy prices began tumbling almost immediately, with oil falling from $34 a barrel in early 1981 to just $11 by 1986.

It worked before, and it'll work again.

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