I am in dispute of the illogical rant that we cannot drill our way out of our current fuel crisis. Drilling here and drilling now is precisely what we need to do. The price of oil would drop like a rock if Congress would lift the offshore drilling ban and open up the extraction of crude from our vast shale reserves. It would not take 10 years to reap the rewards. It would not take 6 months to get new oil flowing from the Continental Shelf. There tapped, but capped wells off the California coast could be producing much sooner than that. If the United States became energy independent again, terrorism would wander off back into the hole it came out of 30 some years ago. We need to build refineries and get the show on the road. Now! Period!At the same time we need to pursue other great ideas for developing wind, solar, nuclear energy, etc. We need to offer incentives to private industry to develop every possible viable energy source we can find. We need also to develop transportation that can run with less fuel than today’s vehicles. It has to be a full package. Drilling now is a necessary first step. Oil independence is the stimulus that will get us on our feet again. We can still advance new ideas to the fore – and we should. For all you nay-sayers carrying the banner of the hard left, I say, have some faith in America and the American people. Stop trying to push us into the Third world. Allow America to do what she does best. Innovation and discovery into unknown frontiers is as American as a 57 Chevy. We will find cheap, clean, abundant energy. But we need to regain energy independence as a first step. Drill here! Drill now!Denny McNeill
