This article is a perfect example of an ignorant pundit pronouncing on a subject on which they have no real knowledge.

Number 1 the world is NOT running out of oil. The US alone is estimated to have approximately 2 TRILLION!! barrels of oil in oil shales in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. The oil is easily recoverable at prices well below what we currently pay. The issue is not scarcity it is willingness to produce.

Secondly forty years ago there were occasional spills associated with oil production but they are now very very rare and almost always small. Pray tell what industrial activity is without ANY risk? In case you do not know industrial production creates wealth and wealth leads to less poverty, death and sickness so by your Luddite exposition I guess one could say you are an advocate of all these ills.

Thirdly it is clearly imbecilic to try to limit energy use to try to ward off some supposed voodoo curse like alleged global warming. Even the most optimistic scenarios of any reasonable decrease in CO2 production will at best lead to a few tenths of a degree lowering of global temps out 50 to 100 years, and this only if man made CO2 is any part of global warming, which many would doubt.

What cannot be doubted is that energy equals wealth in our industrial economy and lack of energy production will lead to death and destruction for the weak of the world. A more callous proposal than you make would be hard to imagine.

Please do at least a little research into the facts surrounding the very real possibility of global cooling being the most likely prospect over the next twenty years. I suggest you read BOTH sides of climatedebatecaily.com.

In the future you would be well advised to stick to a subject of which you have at least a small amount of knowledge.

My father, a retired petroleum geologist who worked in international ventures is very alarmed about the energy situation. He believes we BOTH need to go full tilt developing alternatives and conserving, AND drill domestically. He does not expect new drilling to increase the use of oil worldwide, but rather to moderate the drop in our supply while we take the decades necessary to wean ourselves mostly or entirely off oil. He does not believe drilling would cause a price drop so much as make the difference between somewhat painful price increases, and out-of-control upwardly spiraling prices if we do not get our act together. He advocated a gradually rising tax years ago because he did not think natural market forces alone would get us to prepare for future supply problems in time. Now he says we have a real problem.

I will try to make this short, but be warned , I am not known for short comments.

I liked the format the writter chose to use, but It is too bad that he sees thing the way he does. I don't think equal weight can be given to the democrats in this situation, but neither should we simply concede the republican point.We must start drilling now, because short term issues are every bit as important as long term goals. In the short term, the housing market crash is causing several people (including myself) to lose our homes.I run a handyman business in Arizona, and the housing depression has caused less work, and increased competition for the few jobs that can be found. This competition coupled with the rising cost of fuel , food, and just about everything else that We must buy; means that even when we find work, our wage is not enough to pay the bills. This said, we must act now in order to save a generation from severe hardships that will only get worse without immediate action. I have kids, and they will not stop aging so the world can play catch up! they need the best education , the best health care, healthy food, a safe and secure home, and freedom from worry if they are to be able to focus on becoming the fine young Americans that they will hopefully become.

The solution is to allow drilling contingent upon investment in alternative fuels/energy sources complete with pre set timetable for compliance.We must fix the short term issue, which is why the democrats are wrong to block relief efforts.But If they truly wish to take the lead in reforming this country, I suggest that they drop all of the Leftist issues such as gun control and gay marriage, etc and focus on nationalism and authoring legislation that will create a focus on immediate short tern relief and an responsible development of future products/fuels. One suggestion that should actually do both, would be to mandate changes to the building code to require all new buildings generate at least a percentage of its own power.There are products on the market now, such as solar roof tiles, and wind generators that are already available as after market installed devices. Why not mandate that we use them as standard on all buildings? Even the oldest cars on the road can be retro fit for alternative fuel use . We do have answers. We simply need to stop bickering and "Just Do It"! P.S Why should Our generation lose in order to give our kids a future, after all , we were once kids that were promised more success than our parents weren't we? Why is it wrong for us to expect the same level of freedom , security and lifestyle as our parents. Sure we want to give our kids a better world than we had., in fact I want the better world we were promised, and I also think we owe our kids A BETTER WORLD, AND EACH NEW GENERATION DESERVES BETTER THAN THE LAST(AS LONG AS THEY EARN IT)!

What a gross distortion of the facts. Lets focus in on one entity, off shore drilling, and not discuss the numerous other options brought to the table by that evil Republican McCain. He spoke of drilling (which will soften the blow well down the road and add to our energy independence), seeking alternative fuels, improving MPG, and nuclear options. Each of these components, TOGETHER, will be necessary to gain oil independence and new technologies. Democrats, or should I state the facts and say socialists, want to tax their way out of the problem. Redistribution is a socialist idea and has never been sucessful. There must be a comprehensive approach to dealing with fuel prices, oil independence, and global warming. Why don't the democrats want to discuss the constitution when they talk about wind fall profit taxes, an obvious violation of free trade and the capitalist system. It is sad to see so many Americans reading articles like this one and take it as fact, when it is narrow minded and biased.