We might want to think carefully before we wish away $4 gas. Not that I like paying so much for gas and I know that a lot of people are really hurting. But if gas were to ressort back to, say, $2 a gallon any hope of weaning ourselves off oil and developing cars that can truly be energy efficient will be lost. The only thing causing us to even think about better gas mileage and the abandonment of gas guzzlers is this high price.

You want to drill off the coasts then first there should be a firm unchangeable edict that mileage standards will be much higher, that all forms of alternative energy will be funded, that we will use the plentiful brains in this country to find the innovations that will make us energy independent. These things must be written in stone, so to speak. Then we can drill to help us bridge the gap between fossil fuels and the engines that use it and other types of fuels and engines.

If we just go out and drill and pat ourselves on the back that we're doing something, then we're on our way to worse times. Drilling off the coasts or in ANWR gets us little except for those who push it for political reasons. I'm sure we can drill safely but drilling isn't the answer. It's a pacifier.

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