And emailer writes in response to my post on Stephanie Herseth's mailer on energy that many of us got this week:
I agree with your comments on the 'campaign' presentation of the newletter. What are your thoughts on the viability of energy independence? Is this an appropriate discussion for the blog?
If baseball, coffee and Famous Dave's are appropriate for the blog, you bet energy independence is. I have recently penned a piece on the subject. We'll see if it ever sees the light of day. Let me summarize what I think we should do, leaving aside obvious objections to some of the proposals (e.g., legitimate environmental concerns).
1. Increase domestic supply by expanding drilling in Alaska and off-shore.
2. Promote alternative energy sources. This includes biofuel (as Rep. Herseth is rightly trumpeting), solar power, wind power, and nuclear power. We also need to promote greater fuel efficiency in automobiles by furthering tax incentives for hybrid automobiles and raising CAFE standards. I'd like to see government policy advocating all these things.
Americans should not be overly optimistic. The days of sub-$2.00 gas are probably over. And the government can do very little to effect global supply and global demand, which is what drives oil prices in the first place. I seriously doubt we can ever be truly independent when it comes to energy. This is not an excuse not to act where we can.
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