Good article Joseph, but I think it is still important to note that since oil is sold on the world market, new oil drilled in Alaska or offshore might very well end up being bought by foreign markets, especially if the dollar continues to stall out. Most of these "drill baby drill" neanderthals fail to grasp that say, ripping up Utah for shale oil might not produce more domestic oil at all, short of an export ban. Of course, an export ban would be met with retaliatory tariffs, and drive the price of oil up, probably more then new drilling would lower it. The U.S. cannot become an Import Substitution state when it comes to oil, unless we are ready to drastically reduce our use.
In other words, oil drilling is a box canyon, economically. We need to back the hell out with renewables and conservation.