A Short and Simple Economic Critique of the Weak Case for Drilling in ANWR

High oil prices and politics periodically elicit calls for more U.S. oil exploration in ecologically sensitive areas, in particular, Alaska's ANWR coastal plain with its large reserves. Though ANWR survived untouched from the elections and high prices in 2008, President Obama's recent proposal to allow drilling offshore of ANWR and the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico raise concerns about increased pressure to develop ANWR, beyond the expected pressures from economic recovery and midterm elections in 2010. Ecological issues aside, however, this author argues that having ANWR oil in 2008 would not have significantly lowered U.S. oil prices or imports, or improved U.S. energy security, not without much public financing and shifting the burden from the pump and imports to taxes or debt. That other OECD countries manage greater burdens also suggests such concerns are misplaced