Its Like Crack

Over the last few days the idea of allowing offshore drilling and drilling in the ANWR has gained in popularity. Sen., John McCain has done an about face on the issue as has Charlie Crist. It seems both are convinced it is an answer to our current gas woes. This is wrong and short sighted for several reasons:

Even if drilling were to begin, it would take many years (some say more than 20)for these efforts to hit the marketplace. In fact, the Department of Energy has estimated that expanded offshore drilling would have no effect on oil prices before 2030. That is based on the assumption that actualy drilling could begin almost immediately.

Even assuming we tap some significant oil reserves, it will never be enough, particularly given increased world wide demand, and we will likely be in the same position years from now. Like it or not, oil is a finite resource.

More drilling does nothing to reduce our level of emissions and would likely kill any momentum we have toward kicking the fossil fuel habit.

Fill in here the obvious environmental impact of offshore drilling and drilling in the Arctic Preserve.

I realize we Americans at times appear congenitally unable to stomach sacrifice and thus are drawn -- like moths to a flame -- to short term easy answers. Faced with an environmental crisis and an oil habit that tends to enrich our enemies and skewer our economy, which way will we go?

Were I a betting man, I'd buy some oil stock now. No way we can pass up an idea so short sighted and infantile. You heard it here, Big Oil will get another wet kiss.