Oil's awful truths

     Mitt Romney admitted the truth the other day ("'...We're going to start drilling again in the Gulf, we're going to drill in the outer continental shelf, we're going to drill in North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas. That communicates to the world that there will be more supply coming from the U.S. And that affects the price of gasoline,' said Romney"), but here's a recap:

          Because oil is a global commodity, increasing domestic production will do very little to bring down retail prices, although it does help narrow the trade deficit as America spends less on imports. On this score, America is doing much better than the Republicans will admit. In 2005, oil imports accounted for nearly 60 percent of America’s daily consumption. In 2010, for the first time in recent memory, imports were less than half of consumption, and last year, imports were only 45 percent — 8.6 million barrels a day of the 19 million consumed. There are two reasons for this welcome shift: production is up and oil consumption is down. Production of crude oil and other liquid fuels, onshore and offshore, reached about 10.3 million barrels daily in 2011, its highest level since the late 1980s.

          Some of the biggest discoveries have occurred on private land in deep shale formations in Texas and North Dakota, and production on federal land is beginning to boom, too. The real issue, which industry’s allies never mention, is whether the oil companies are fully exploiting the federal resources they already control. Mr. Bingaman notes that 7,000 approved onshore drilling permits have been sitting unused by the companies that own them, and that millions of acres under lease in the gulf remain unexplored.

          The most encouraging news is on the consumption side. Americans are getting more miles to the gallon, which means there’s that much less carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere. We used 20.8 million barrels a day in 2005, the highest level in history. That dropped to just under 19 million barrels last year, and, according to the federal Energy Information Administration, is likely to stay there awhile. The recession has had a lot to do with the decline, but so has fuel efficiency. Ten years ago, cars and light trucks (including S.U.V.’s) averaged 24.7 miles a gallon. In 2011, the figure rose to 29.6 miles a gallon as consumers chose more efficient cars. Two landmark agreements between the administration and the automakers — aimed at improving efficiency and reducing greenhouse gases — could raise it to 55 miles per gallon by 2025.