<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Georgia;
panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoPlainText, li.MsoPlainText, div.MsoPlainText
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Plain Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black;}
span.PlainTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Plain Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Plain Text";
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoPlainText>The Atlantic<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>The Daily Dish<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Andrew Sullivan<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>18 Oct 2008 10:15 pm<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>During the Gibson interview: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;background:#E9E9E9'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Let me
speak specifically about a credential that I do bring to this table, Charlie,
and that's with the energy independence that I've been working on for these
years as the governor of <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>this
state that produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy</span></em>,
that I worked on as chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission,
overseeing the oil and gas development in our state to produce more for the
United States. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Factcheck.org <a
href="http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/energetically_wrong.html">says</a>
it's "not even close":<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;background:#E9E9E9'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>It's
simply untrue that Alaska produces anything close to 20 percent of the U.S.
"energy supply," a term that is generally defined as energy consumed.
That category includes power produced in the U.S. by nuclear, coal,
hydroelectric dams and other means – as well as all the oil imported into
the country. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;background:#E9E9E9'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Palin
would have been correct to say that Alaska produces just over 14 percent of all
the oil produced in the U.S., leaving out imports and leaving out other forms
of power. According to the federal government's Energy Information
Administration, Alaskan wells produced 263.6 million barrels of oil in 2007, or
14.3 percent of the total U.S. production of 1.8 billion barrels.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;background:#E9E9E9'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>But
Alaskan production accounts for only 4.8 percent of all the crude oil and
petroleum products supplied to the U.S. in 2007, counting both domestic
production and imports from other nations. According to EIA, the total supply
was just over 5.5 billion barrels in 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;background:#E9E9E9'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Furthermore,
Palin said "energy," not "oil," so she was actually much
further off the mark. According to EIA, Alaska actually produced 2,417.1
trillion BTUs [British Thermal Units] of energy in 2005, the last year for
which full state numbers are available. That's equal to just 3.5 percent of the
country's domestic energy production. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;background:#E9E9E9'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>And
according to EIA analyst Paul Hess, that would calculate to only "2.4
percent of the 100,368.6 trillion BTUs the U.S. consumes."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Now the kicker - this
Washington Post <a
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/16/AR2008091603406.html">follow-up</a>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;background:#E9E9E9'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>After
nonpartisan Factcheck.org pointed out Palin's error in her interview with
Gibson, the governor revised her statement somewhat, limiting it to oil and
gas. But data compiled by the Energy Information Administration (EIA)
contradict her claim that she oversees "nearly 20 percent" of oil and
gas production in the country. According to authoritative EIA data, Alaska
accounted for 7.4 percent of total U.S. oil and gas production in 2005. It is
not even correct for Palin to claim that her state is responsible for
"nearly 20 percent" of U.S. oil production. Oil production has fallen
sharply in Alaska during her governorship. The state's share of total U.S. oil
production fell from 18 percent in 2005 to 13 percent this year, according to
the EIA. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><a
href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/the-odd-lies-15.html">http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/the-odd-lies-15.html</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>