verbally, at least…
Drill Here.
Drill Responsibly.
Drill Now.
We can and we should. Cuba is exploring offshore drilling not far from US waters. Brazil has discovered oil and is preparing to drill. Opening the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is estimated by the US Geological Survey to produce about 12 BILLION barrels of oil and temporarily reduce our dependence on foreign oil by about 10%. ANWR’s development footprint? about 3 square miles or 1/10 of 1% of the entire refuge. Plus there are coastal areas where we could drill for known oil — including right here in the Old Dominion (think of the sales tax dollars we could get for roads from that!)
The truth is that we can drill responsibly and with minimal negative environmental impact. Tim Kaine and Nancy Pelosi may not think we are paying enough for fuel yet (after all, we still only pay half what the Brits do) but my inelastic budget can’t sustain another 75% increase in gas costs by this time next year. $4 gas is bad enough but there is no end in sight to the rising fuel costs. The Middle East has us over a barrel – literally – and it’s time we said ENOUGH is ENOUGH!
It’s time to drill here; drill now; drill responsibly!
And, by the way, let’s keep up the work on hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell technology, more efficient engines, lighter cars & more. Enviro-friendly driving, innovation and domestic drilling are ALL viable options in reducing our dependence on foreign oil — they aren’t mutually exclusive.
