Well, don't let me stop you from predicting McG.

As for the oft quoted argument that this is 'only' 6 months, 12 months, 18 months worth of oil:

1) As stated at the outset of the thread, we won't really know until exploratory drilling is done, which is what that congressional vote is really leading toward, with another vote required (and by no means a done deal).

2) All I'm saying is that utilizing ANWR oil looks to save the US a lot of money that otherwise must go overseas. If indeed there are 10 billion barrels of oil, at $50/ barrel, that looks to be half a trillion bucks. If oil gets scarce, look to the cost going up and the usefulness and value of having that much of our own oil in hand to be substantially higher.

3) The way oil is actually pumped, shipped, and utilized, it's not like the US economy sticks a big straw in ANWR and sucks it dry. It is incrementally added to streams of existing oil that is pooled and shipped, in which case it will be pumped over the next twenty or more years. If the past is any quide, over those years there will be methods of recovering even more of what's there, as already happened with the Prudhoe reserves.

4) Simply put, it is a valuable asset calling for comparatively little outlay, considering the bulk of the necessary infrastructure is already there .

5) Possibly our descendents will think we were crazy not to take advantage of the situation. But predicting is your department.