http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=BBA6351E-F324-475D-95FE-B3D9D57B2D45

May 18, 2010

The benefits of offshore oil drilling are far outweighed by the risks, Senator Bernie Sanders argued at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Tuesday.
The senator questioned U.S. Energy Secretary Ken Salazar about a moratorium on offshore drilling in the aftermath of the April 20 blowout at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. At the hearing, Sanders noted that the U.S. Energy Information Administration has calculated that opening Atlantic and Pacific coastal waters to offshore drilling would increase the supply of oil by 2030 only enough to shave three-cents per gallon off the price of a gallon of gas. An easier, smarter way to bring down the price of gasoline – without the risks of catastrophic environmental and economic damage – is to raise fuel economy standards for new cars and light trucks sold in the United States.
Making cars that get 35.5 miles per gallon of gas, as federal regulations will require, will save a dollar per gallon by 2030.
To watch the senator at the energy committee hearing, click here. (available shortly)