Robert Pollin, UMass economics professor and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), argues that maintaining the moratoria on drilling in the U.S. oil and gas reserves won’t significantly affect the GDP. According to Pollin the most important factor is the price of oil. If the price of oil goes up, the GDP will be influenced by how effective we are at energy conservation. “The more we invest now in energy efficiency and building retrofits and public transportation, that is going to reduce the impact of any kind of a price shock on GDP,” states Pollin.
(Daily Climate News and Analysis, 2/18/2010)