I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

First of all, please do not say Republican agenda vs. Democratic Agenda. There are multiple views, multiple agendas, and this discussion does not subscribe to either/or language in my opinion.

1. ANWAR is in federal protected land, which means drilling there is federal decision. A pipeline is already built out there and can be utilized. The other thing about not in my own backyard is the argument that comes from There Will be Blood. In the movie, he sucked dry other land from taking the oil from adjacent properties. Cuba and China are drilling off the Florida coast. Do we think that this same issue will not occur to the United States? Also, please look at the Pickens Plan. Freedee turned me onto it and I believe it discussed how to lower costs, still utilize oil, while working on innovations on technology.

2. There is an argument that the US only has 2-6% world oil supplies and it will not effect prices. This estimate of 2-6% of the world's oil supplies does not hold up to scrutiny. In oil shale alone, found in the Green River Formation in parts of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, the U.S. has approximately 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil, or over three times the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia. This comes from a midpoint estimate in a 2005 RAND study done at the request of the Department of Energy, and a higher end estimate puts the number at over one trillion barrels. Furthermore, there are vast areas of the United States and its outer continental shelf where it is illegal to even look for oil. Exploration routinely yields additional resources far larger than initial estimates. Resources from oil shale and additional oil resources that are likely to be discovered are not included in the estimates of American oil supplies. This is where estimates and speculation become a reality. Plus, speculation does not only rely on facts and figures, but a mentality.

3. Classic free-market capitalism would dictate, actually, that when the technology becomes more economical and efficient and profit worthy for companies to sell new products, the demand from the public will become such that either major car manufacturers will either die out or change due to the demand for superior products. The idea that we need to take 2 steps back before taking a step forward is counter-productive. Why not use oil that is available, release corporate taxes and incentives for oil industry to have monopolies on energy consuming products, and allow the free market to let innovative small businesses produce products and see if they can compete. If it is the desire of the public to go greener with more renewable energy, and the government does not impede, trust in research, development, and innovation will create the product.