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There is a lot of insight in this thread. Ironically, as some of us are accusing the environmentalists of screwing things up for the fuel industry and elevating prices, it may be these same people who lead us to a solution. Yes, greed, supply and demand, and stricter EPA rules are all contributing to higher prices but we've all known for a long time that the fossil fuel route is not sustainable. Increasing our supplies to meet demand will only accelerate the "expiration date" of the oil based energy system. Since we will HAVE to face the music sometime, we may as well start soon and get our feet in the renewable energy doors. The U.S. needs to do this NOW because other countries are already developing these technologies and we cannot afford to lag very far behind them. I won't be so bold as to say that in a decade we can get off of fossil fuels but we can apply alternative fuels in places where they are feasible and reduce our demand on oil. We'll still use gas for cars for a long time but we can buy that time by transitioning to different technologies for power generation and heating if we do it soon. If we were spending money on alternative fuels development instead of blowing away $1 billion each week in Iraq, we could be well on our way to a more sound energy policy. And these damned environmentalists? They might be the ONLY people that push our butts into gear, getting started what we should have been doing already: Developing alternative energy. It MUST happen, why are we fighting it? Re: Drilling in Alaska - We should NOT do it! Sure, we want the oil but it will be far more valuable to us if we wait a couple decades until the rest of the world has run out. Our military runs on oil and even as somewhat of a pacifist, I still believe that strategically, we should be the last ones with it. Re: environmentalism - I recently moved from the big city to a rural town and now enjoy a much cleaner environment. I can breathe the air without having to chew it first. For once I am beginning to appreciate the intentions of the environmentalists. There is a price to be paid for cleaner places to live and right now we're paying it. But I wouldn't trade it either because I know that we will use these higher prices as a reason to FINALLY develop feasible alternatives. It sucks that we have to do it but there's no other way unless we want to spend the rest of our lives with our short & curlies in the firm grasp of the oil industry.
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