More games with the price of oil

The Senate has voted 97-1 in favor of a measure that calls for the Bush administration to stop adding oil to the nation's strategic petroleum reserve, a cache meant to protect against a catastrophic drop in imports due to war, disaster, etc.

But only 70,000 barrels are being added to the reserve each day, which represents a tiny 0.3% of the 21 million barrels America uses every day. How much of a difference in the price of gas do you think that this measure's going to make?

No gas tax holiday. No ethanol subsidies. No more symbolic measures.

It's time to get real and start dealing with the problem of peak oil: higher mileage standards, a commitment to alternative fuels research, a carbon tax, tax credits for improvements in energy efficiency, etc.

But most of all, we need a recognition that "business as usual" is part of the problem, not the goal.