Drill Baby Drill

I cannot tell you how many times I visit this blog and am stunned to read the words of my dear Papa and to discover that we are on 'zactly the same page regarding an issue, often despite the fact that he and I have not even discussed it. PB and I do not agree on 100 percent of the things, as that would be just crazy, but he and I generally see the world similarly. It is somewhat astonishing. I have been meaning to address the topic of offshore drilling, but it seems I've been beaten to it. I would like to fortify PB's comments, though. As was pointed out in comments, offshore drilling is not THE solution. The fact is that when you're talking about energy, there is no silver bullet. U.S. energy policy must be comprehensive. It must include conservation, it must include alternative fuels such as solar and wind, it must include innovative approaches such as electric cars that also work as a power grid, and it must also consider the impact of more standard approaches such as offshore drilling and nuclear power. And it must consider all of this with a measured aim toward reducing our dependence on fossil fuels peddled by nations that may not always have the best interests of these Untied States of America in mind. I think there were immediately politically expedient reasons for President Obama's announcement. I think he's trying to yank the issue of offshore drilling away from Republigoats in preparation for what is sure to be a protracted political debate about energy policy. I think he is trying to buckle the speculators prior to summer, when a spike in gas prices could surely threaten the ongoing economic recovery. And, who knows, he may be reacting to recent doom and gloom reports regarding peak oil. Regardless, it is clear that offshore drilling alone isn't a stand-alone solution, which one would not know of course from watching the 2008 Republigoat Convention and Circus in Minneapolis. That's all the Republigoats had regarding this issue. It must be so damned easy to be a Republigoat. You just pick up a hammer and start beating the shit out of something you want to fix. What I think you'll see from President Obama is a comprehensive, measured approach as described. He has followed his announcement on drilling with new fuel efficiency and emissions standards. I hope what we'll see follow is a full-on belly flop into crafting a new green economy. We should be making solar panels here, and there should be subsidies to get them covering every rooftop in America. So, sure, what the hell. Drill baby drill. But it can't and won't just stop there.