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| The oil and gas industry has leases on more than 91 million acres of federal lands and waters (47.5 million acres onshore and 44 million acres offshore) but has developed less than 23.5 million acres. Almost three quarters of that land - 68 million acres - has not been drilled. Want to know more? Find more answers to your big questions! |
As Americans struggle with high prices at the pump, one thing is certain: a rush to drill more in Alaska, on Western public lands, and off our Atlantic and Pacific coasts will not bring down the price of gas. Unfortunately, it will needlessly sacrifice wilderness and wildlife. Today's high gasoline prices are the result of a host of economic conditions that have little to do with drilling on federal lands. According to economic experts, these conditions include the weak dollar, increased speculation, the war in Iraq, and dramatically increased consumption in China and India.
Preying on consumer fears jolted by high pump prices, the White House and the oil and gas industry continue to call for more drilling on public lands and off our Atlantic and Pacific coasts, falsely claiming that doing so will reduce gas prices. In fact, since the Bush administration took office, it has pushed an industry-backed agenda to give Big Oil priority use of public lands. Repeating a simplistic sound-bite of "drill more and lower prices" - even if discredited by experts - is a lot easier than making the tough decisions that will move this country toward a sustainable energy future.
Opening more areas to drilling in the U.S. can never make us less dependent on foreign oil or natural gas because no matter where we drill, there simply is not enough oil. Conservation can help a lot. In the past three years alone, conservation and new technologies have cut our projected need for oil through 2050 by 100 billion barrels.
What We're Doing
The Wilderness Society is working with decision makers to ensure that the oil industry is properly monitored, that oil drilling on our public lands is done with forethought and care, and that America adopts policies to increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable technologies to solve the problem of high fuel prices.
Wilderness Society staff in Washington, DC and the field are working behind the scenes to protect wilderness by promoting strong land-use plans, crafting and passing wilderness bills, and giving local partners the help they need to develop effective conservation campaigns.
Find answers to your biggest questions about gas prices and drilling.
In the News
