A new study indicates that energy costs for American consumers will continue to rise significantly unless the Obama administration opens previously off-limits areas to domestic oil development.
Congress and President Bush in 2008 lifted a ban on drilling along the U.S. coastline in response to high oil prices. However, most of those areas, including offshore Alaska and the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, have still not been accessed for oil and gas exploration and development.
A study sponsored by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) finds the drilling bans will cost the U.S. economy $2.36 trillion over the next 20 years.
Dave Harbour, a retired commissioner of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, helped oversee the study....