I’d much rather open up existing land to energy companies who will pay us for the privilege, and in the process devalue the oil held by Putin, Chavez, and the like. American producers are among the cleanest in the world in extracting oil – how does one justify paying foreign nations to pollute instead of drilling ourselves with less pollution and calling it environmentally friendly?

I’d rather us use the “wild card nuclear energy” to enable plug-in hybrids without the need for massive increases in coal usage, and allow alternative energy research (funded by profits and venture capital attracted by high oil prices) to proceed until answers are found that are viable at current market prices.

Overall I’d rather trust the market that took us from the Model T and the Wright Flyer to the Corvette and the 707 in 40 years than the gov’t run space program that in 40 years took us from Apollo moon landings to space shuttle trips to low earth orbit.

To blueball:

I wholeheartedly agree that more drilling is not a long term solution. However, the technology to make us truly a non oil based economy is at least five years away, most likely ten. Alternative energy has been in research and development since the first Gulf War. Many strides have been taken, but it is still a long way off, realistically. I would very much like to be wrong, but history is a good measuring rod for reality.

Even if we had the solution to the energy crisis in say, five years in the form of a technological breakthrough, there would be another five to ten years of wrangling over patents, laws governing implementation of infrastructure, tax burdens and incentives, environmental regulations of the new industry, etc., which would put a realistic alternative energy fifteen years away by the time we fully had the infrastructure, even with the best funding.

Now, I am not saying by any means ewe should not pursue, and pursue adamantly, alternative solutions. What I am saying is that we need three things that offshore drilling can provide RIGHT NOW, even though production would not be there for a few years. Those three things are:

Jobs
Revenue
Infrastructure

The jobs is pretty obvious. A simple glance through the original post makes that clear.

Revenue would be gained in not only the taxes paid on the machinery, contracts, permits, and legal fees, but also on the payroll taxes of the tens of thousands of people we could put to work getting this country energy independent in the short term, while pursuing long term oil independance.

Infrastructure is a no-brainer. It is already there, and has been for decades.

In summation, Mr. Shadegg, I would implore you to work to add this as a rider on the current economic bailout bill. The Democrats, if it was implemented, would have a very hard time voting against it in the face of so much pressure from not only their colleagues, but also the american taxpayer, many of whom are wringing their hands and wondering how we will weather this storm.

We agree energy is the problem, although we disagree on the solution. Since we have 10 years to wait even if your idea passes, why not work on the energy problem through a massive alternative energy program? Put a trillion or so on the table and form a public corp to beat the world in cracking the alternative energy solution? It’s one thing we can do: we are Americans and we win global wars, go to the moon, safeguard democracy. Why cant we engineer our way into world energy dominance? (Instead of fighting over old style sources, oil, coal, or the wild card of nuclear energy.)

Dem’s always whining about Jobs going overseas, but they insist on forcing the additional jobs, that could be done by Americans here at home, exploration provides to be created elsewhere. Driving Federal funds into unready technologies that Dem’s are heavily invested in is their priority…

Dem’s always whining about Trade deficit, again forcing this $700 Billion to go overseas and toward the trade imbalance…

They have to continue to have the problems they create to fool those that follow them that they can be the solution. Shame so many have their head up their hind-side…

http://www.huckpac.com/?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=1899

It is really a Mainstreet recovery as opposed to a Wall Street recovery!