We’ve all been paying more to fill up our gas tanks and heat our homes.
And while many are looking for someone to blame, the truth is that oil prices are set in a global market, so there is no one person – or policy – to blame.
Oil prices have to do with how much crude oil is being pumped out of the ground by all the countries around the world.
And by how high the demand is.
Changes in the price of gas – which is refined from crude – overwhelmingly reflect changes in that global price. Because of this, U.S. policy has little effect on world oil prices, especially in the short-run.
But while New Mexicans are feeling the pain at the gas pump, oil executives have made historic profits and have openly paid themselves huge bonuses while prioritizing shareholder returns.
In addition, big oil has been hoarding unused drilling permits and leases, yet they want more bargain-basement leases and permits to bulk up their portfolios.
The industry is already sitting on 12.3 million acres of unused leases that they are refusing to use. That’s about the surface area of Maryland and New Jersey combined!
They also have over 8,800 unused permits to drill on public lands.
Handing over more of our public lands to feed big oil’s greed won’t lower prices at the pump one penny.
Don’t let them gaslight you.
They just want to lease more of our land and they’re using global gas prices as an excuse.
Fortunately, there are a number of steps we can take that will help New Mexico families.
We must break our dependence on volatile fossil fuels, electrify our transportation sector, and speed up the production of cheaper, cleaner energy sources.
Big oil wants to keep us dependent on them so they can keep making profits off of us.
Transitioning to clean, renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, will expand our energy supply and lower costs for New Mexico families and businesses.
