People seem to blame $4 gas on finicky environmental rules; that if we stopped obsessing about BP-esque blowouts or the comfort of Alaskan caribou we’d all be sipping petroleum milk shakes.

Environment Editor Ben Jervey at www.good.is looked at figures gathered from the industry:

“Whether we dramatically expand offshore drilling or stop selling offshore drilling leases entirely, there will be essentially no impact on the price of gasoline until 2020.”

And even then, the price drop would hardly make you feel rich. This chart summarizes the data; the rest of the argument is here.

His conclusion: “…increasing the gas mileage of American cars is a far better way to cut gas prices than drilling.”