[Steely Tom]

The problem is that the Arabs will still have the cheap marginal production, and can turn supply up and down to twiddle prices and make these other sources less economic.

Yeah, but doesn't it still accomplish the same goal? Forcing the Arabs to drop their price keeps our money out of their evil hands. They've got huge welfare states to support; the price of crude wouldn't have to go that low before they'd be in a world of hurt, with their own populations turning on them.

[WildBill2275]

NO. It does not accomplish the same goal. We are still dependant on them and they can jack us around at will. Developing alternative sources of energy cuts off their revenue stream and lets us avoid foreign entanglements, as our founding fathers recomended.