Oil change. (Data).As the media exposed our Saudi Arabian allies as double-dealing despots, attention has turned to the practical: Can the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. live without Saudi oil, which, at 1.6 million barrels a day, accounts for 14 percent of our imports? The answers are mixed. The Wall Street Journal's Susan Lee says we can, since other countries will simply sell more oil. Newsweek reached a similar conclusion. On the otherhand, writing in The Weekly Standard, Hudson Institute The Hudson Institute is a corporatist-leaning U.S. think tank, founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by the futurist Herman Kahn and other colleagues from the RAND Corporation. economist Irwin Stelzer Irwin M. Stelzer (born 1932) is an American economist. He is the U.S. economic and business columinst for The Sunday Times (UK), The Courier-Mail and a contributing editor of The Weekly Standard. says "not a chance"--at least not for many years. The most useless contribution came from The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times' Paul Krugman Paul Robin Krugman (born February 28, 1953) is an American economist. Krugman, a liberal, is currently a professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University. , who said that "intelligent policies could break" the oil price surge-and-bust cycle. His only concrete suggestion: increase mileage MILEAGE. A compensation allowed by law to officers, for their trouble and expenses in travelling on public business. 2. The mileage allowed to members of congress, is eight dollars for every twenty miles of estimated distance, by the most usual roads, from his standards on SUVs to those of cars. Unfortunately for Krugman, Stelzer disposed of this hoary hoar·y adj. hoar·i·er, hoar·i·est 1. Gray or white with or as if with age. 2. Covered with grayish hair or pubescence: hoary leaves. 3. idea, pointing out that even a 25 percent increase in mileage standards would take a decade to decrease oil consumption by barely more than 1 million barrels a day. That's less than we buy from the Saudis today. U.S. Oil Supply 2000 Source Millions of Barrels Per Day Domestic Production 9.39 45.8% Canada 1.69 8.2% Mexico 1.36 6.6% South & Central America 2.58 12.6% Western Europe 0.89 4.3% Former Soviet Union 0.07 0.3% Middle East 2.50 12.2% North Africa 0.23 1.1% West Africa 1.40 6.8% Australasia 0.05 0.2% China 0.04 0.2% Japan 0.01 0.1% Other Asia Pacific 0.18 0.9% Unidentified 0.11 0.5% Total 20.50 100.0% (*) (*)numbers do not add up to 100 due to rounding Source: Energy Information Administration and BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2001 |
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