FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2008
CONTACT:
Brian Kennedy (202) 346-8826
Chris Tucker (202) 346-8825
New Study Quantifies Economic Stimulus of
Conventional Energy Production
Findings call into question the veracity of ‘green jobs’ proposals
Washington, DC – A study conducted by ICF International and released today by the American Petroleum Institute (API) finds that responsibly developing America’s abundant but currently off-limits domestic energy supply would create 160,000 new jobs alone, generating $1.7 trillion for local, state and federal tax revenue, and providing a major shot in the arm to a flagging national economy. Institute for Energy Research (IER) senior vice president Daniel Kish issued the following statement:
“The trouble with haphazard, ham-handed efforts to shoehorn our industrial economy into a green utopia is that it costs taxpayers billions of dollars and generates a small fraction of the proven power of conventional resources. On the contrary, as the ICF study illustrates, developing America’s oil and gas resources creates jobs, stimulates the economy, and actually generates massive revenues for the taxpayer all at once. It’s just that simple.”
“Paying more to get less is a fool’s errand on any occasion, but it’s downright dangerous when the United States is suffering through the biggest economic recession in recent history. Given the competition we face from developing countries like China and India, mandating and subsidizing the use of inefficient energy sources in America is like entering a tractor with a five-gallon fuel tank in a NASCAR race. You’re going to lose, you’re guaranteed to be embarrassed, and you’re probably going to create a catastrophe in the process.”
The ICF International study also concludes that development of all U.S. oil and natural gas resources on federal lands could exceed $4 trillion over the life of the resources.
More from IER on energy as an economic stimulus:
- A Massive Economic Stimulus in the Making
- IER Letter to President-elect Obama: Americans Say No to New Energy Bans
- IER to Congress: Stimulating U.S. Energy Creates Jobs and Fills Government Coffers
- Strong Oil Earnings Good for Economy
The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains that freely-functioning energy markets provide the most efficient and effective solutions to today’s global energy and environmental challenges and, as such, are critical to the well-being of individuals and society.
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www.InstituteforEnergyResearch.org
