You knew this was coming.

Obama sez: Drilling = fail, keeps ur tires inflated for gas savings bonanza!
McCain sez: LOL, what a joke, drilling FTW!

So, is Obama out of his mind? Can proper tire inflation really save as much oil as we could get from all the proposed offshore drilling?

Recall from the previous Word Problems article you most likely didn't read that, at peak production (which would be anywhere from 10-20 years from now under any reasonable scenario), drilling from both the offshore sites and ANWR would pump about 2 million barrels of oil into the market every day against the 20 million barrels we use.

Now we have our benchmark, time for the hard part: how much oil could we really save with proper tire inflation and regular tune-ups?

This isn't research I'm prepared to do.  Thankfully, the good folks over at the Department of Energy have done it for us on this website:

Properly inflating your tires is good for an additional 3% on your vehicle's fuel efficiency.  A properly tuned engine is good for another 4%.  A clogged air filter could be a 10% hit.  And even the wrong motor oil can give you a 2% improvement.

Taken together, these car maintenance conservation techniques could save a worst-case driver 15%.  Here, I'll throw a dart at a dartboard and call it at 5% improvement for the average driver. 

The savings from tire gauges and car maintenance is slightly smaller than the 10% increase in available oil from the potential drilling, with one little caveat. Inflate your tires now, and you get the savings now.  Start drilling right here, right now, and the savings don't start for a decade. 

(Can we pause here so I can laugh at the spectacle of politicians insisting that Congress return from vacation to vote on drilling? Yeah, that 5 weeks is really going to make a difference moving forward with an energy plan that has a 10-20 year lead time.  Does this bullshit really fool people?)

Unfortunately, it looks like this oil drilling talk is starting to take hold.  According to recent surveys, 70% of Americans are in favor of more drilling.  While I don't think it will solve any problems, and may result in an environmental disaster in the Gulf  and/or the Alaskan wildlife refuge, that really is an environmental question, not an energy question.

Looking at it through the prism of achieving energy sustainability, and putting aside any environmental concerns: I say let 'em drill.  Drill to your hearts content, motherfuckers.  Drill in the Gulf, drill in ANWR, drill for oil in Teddy Roosevelt's head if you think it's there. Because, eventually, there won't be anymore places to drill for oil in, no more magic beans that would solve everything if mean old Nancy Pelosi would just let the American people have them.  The excuses will run out, and the price of gas will be as high as ever.  And then maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to make some progress, instead of this childish horseshit.