ANWR
Suddenly it is a matter of national security that we drill for oil in Alaska. That's rich. I wonder how many more miles Repulicans will get out of that excuse. We already have an oil reserve. I was informed today that there is enough oil in eastern Utah to supply the US for 10 years, but we don't use it. So either this is part of the "emergency oil reserve" we keep for war time (when else would an emergency be declared?) or it is like every other industry that is dying in eastern Utah: we buy oil from Saudi Arabia because it's cheaper than producing it at home. Either way, I see little point in drilling in Alaska, never mind the environmental concerns and the eyesore a huge oil pipeline would be in the Alaskan wilderness.
"We need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil!" is the battle cry. Wrong. We need to reduce our dependence on oil, period. As more nations around the globe industrialize, we will be competing for a piece of an increasingly smaller pie. China is the new oil consumer. How long do you think it will take India to catch up?
Something stinks and it's not the dead skunk on the highway.