Geo: When T. Boone Pickens, the consummate big oil man and arch conservative states very simply and succinctly: "We can't drill our way out of this", I have a distinct inclination to believe him. Don't you get it?! The issue is not just oil (fossil fuel) independence, but energy independence. I agree with T. Boone that we need to exploit our vast reserves of natural gas in NA. and use it to power our trucking infrastructure. And then use wind and solar to generate electricity.

Yeah, we own what little oil (like the easy oil in ANWAR that the big oil companies are lusting after) that we have left and is ours territorially. So what. It won't make a dent in the U.S. demand now or ten years from now at the current rate of U.S. consumption.

Jobs. You what jobs? Making a national commitment to alternative energy would represent one of the largest labor pools in the history of our country. It would make the huge hydroelectric projects of the 30s (Hoover, Grand Coulee, etc.) and the WPA look like temp labor. T. Boone didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday. He sees a huge economic opportunity and profits for his own ventures. Even Dubya says we're all addicted to oil. Time to kick the habit, man. Get with the program.