Statement of Betsy Loyless, Senior Vice President for Policy







    WASHINGTON, July 23 /EMWNews/ -- "After millions of acres

have been surrendered to oil companies by the Bush administration in recent

years, with no positive impact for consumers, must we really now sacrifice

the safety of our beaches and our last wild places?



    "The U.S. has an energy crisis on its hands. It's disappointing that

Big Oil is dictating the GOP leadership's response in the face of this

crisis. It's stunning that rather than putting consumers first, the

response from the industry's allies in Congress is to pursue the same tired

policies that have lucratively served the oil industry while running up gas

prices.



    "The energy crisis is profoundly painful, but it is also an

opportunity. We have an opportunity to truly get off of oil and reinvent

our economy with clean renewables that will end our addiction, clean up our

skies, create jobs and solve global warming."



    MORE INFORMATION



    Audubon believes today's announcement is emblematic of the oil

industry's strategy to leverage high gas prices to gain ever more drilling

rights. This bill introduced by some of the industry's chief allies in

Congress comes just days before second quarter profits are announced by the

industry. The heart of the GOP bill calls for expanded drilling offshore

and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.



    Millions of acres have been made available already for oil development

by the Bush administration in recent years, and that activity has only

padded industry profits as gasoline prices have doubled for consumers.

Audubon is recommending policies that lessen the nation's addiction to

dirty fossil fuels, such as rapid expansion of renewable energy development

in areas like wind and solar.



    Recent studies by the Bush Administration's own Energy Information

Administration (EIA) have shown that expanded drilling offshore and in the

Arctic Refuge would have little impact on supply before 2030 and an

"insignificant" impact on prices at the pump. For example, in a May 2008

study, "Analysis of Crude Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife

Refuge," the EIA found that if Congress authorized drilling this year, no

oil would be available before 2018. What's more, the price impact

translates to just a penny or two at the gas pump. As the study concludes,

Arctic Refuge "oil production is not projected to have a large impact on

world oil prices." The report also notes that even this extremely minor

price impact could be neutralized by OPEC reducing its oil exports by an

equal amount.



    CONTACT: Tony Iallonardo



    202-861-2242 x3042