[Rennes Templar]

Too little too late to avert the present shortage. It would take years for this to impact US production.

[penowa]

I've come to the conclusion there is only ONE reason why our elected officials prefer to see our economy in shambles instead of doing ANYTHING constructive to address energy problems. They are lining their pockets and putting personal profit ahead of the people who elected them and the future of the country.

NONE of them (including the 3 remaining presidential possibilities) deserve to be elected or re-elected IMO. Why should our choice in November be between two candidates who will be far worse presidents than Jimmy Carter?

[roses of sharon]

Sounds like we need a “maverick” nipping at the ankles of the candidates.

Will McCain’s maverick please stand up!

[Squantos]

Ping

[spanalot]

“And wealthy Californians, some of whom own property overlooking the oil-rich Santa Barbara Channel”

Will they wait till real estate falls another 40%

[elpadre]

those who oppose the drilling and refining of oil, one our abundant resources, are not only doing a great disservice to the American people, but are also weakening the nation’s defense and economy, are causing hardship on citizens in a dozen different ways and, IMHO, acting in an extremely anti-American, if not treasonous manner.

They should each be fully exposed for who they are.

[rellimpank]

—IMHO, if legislation passed our jackassified Congress and was signed that forced drilling of the mentioned areas , along with the promotion of refinery construction (over the graves of assorted environuts, if necessary ), the ink wouldn’t be dry on the President’s signature before petroleum futures would take the fastest, longest drop in commodities trading history-—

[ZX12R]

From the politician’s perspective, it has nothing to do with the environment. I think it is quite simply the politicians pleasing their voting base, or doing what’s good for the country. And which is more important to democrat politicians?

[Thommas]

We know that our government is constricting our energy intake in order to exert more control of our behavior. Conservatives will scream about this while liberal, communist Dems will only laugh at our impotence. When we've reached a true 1984 community, the dullards on the other side of the political fence won't even see their castration scars.

[dennisw]

We need a right wing military coup to smash down these anarchists and eco-traitors and get this nation on a correct energy course. It won’t happen any other way. It can be like Pinochet is Chile. Military rule for a decade then let intelligent civilians come into power.

[evad]

And wealthy Californians, some of whom own property overlooking the oil-rich Santa Barbara Channel, are never slow to underwrite the costs of presidential campaigns.

It's a simple problem of aesthetics.

Design the oil rigs to look like a crack pipe and these people will be perfectly happy.

[Drango]

There is no political will for off-shore drilling at this time. Same for nuclear power. When gas is $15 a gallon, things may change.

[Jim Noble]

There should have been oil rigs in the Malibu Channel 6 months after 9/11.

Right in front of Barbra's house.

On a serious note - there does not appear to be a strategy to assure (or to recover) secure oil supplies at tolerable cost.

[RightWhale]

The Fairbanks North Star Borough is spending $1.3 million to check into coal-to-oil conversion locally since the oil crisis will be a community disaster by next year. The study won’t matter at all but it is the thought that counts and maybe Sen Stevens can earmark $250 million to construct the plant sometime in the next decade or so.

[Liberty Valance]

[stuartcr]

Because it may cost some votes, and if something ever goes wrong, ie storm damage, oilspill etc, they don’t want to be associated with it.

[LiberConservative]

Face reality, folks. We are NEVER going to drill for oil off our coasts. And we will be paying for $10 a gallon biofuels before we are desperate enough to do anything about our dependence on oil.

[cva66snipe]

For the same reason they pass insanity like HR 4279. They did because most are bought and paid for by corporations. This is no longer a nation of “WE THE PEOPLE” it is a corporate sponsored and manipulated dictatorship and among the top supporters are party leadership in the Democratic and Republican Parties. A Bush on the drilling issue or China will sell you out as fast as a Clinton for example. But a Bush uses W.O.T. or so called Free Trade Agreements as a selling point to the gullible. We're fresh out of honest leaders in Washington, DC except a hand full. Those who are honest soon get labeled fringe wingnut kook by the corporate Media and the corporate owned RNC. Nobody dares call them tyrants because their OUR Tyrants. Many of their enablers also call themselves conservatives well imagine that.

[Species8472]

It would take years for this to impact US production

This is utter nonsense. The reason that it will take years is the time figured in to fight and win all the litigation that will be thrown at ANY proposal by the environmentalist movement.

Even the deepest oil well can be drilled in a couple of months at most.