Offshore drilling

With gas prices as high as they are, it's tempting to get into "drill anywhere and everywhere" mode to get more oil.

The problem is, the oil that's easy to find and extract has been used. It will be more expensive to find and pump whatever is left.

McCain, Bush & Co. are talking about ending the federal ban on offshore drilling. The problem is, if we did so, it would be decades before we'd see an impact:

A 2007 Department of Energy study found that access to coastal energy deposits would not add to domestic crude oil and natural gas production before 2030 and that the impact on prices would be “insignificant.”

So even if we moved ahead with offshore drilling, the results would be a long time coming (one reason: a shortage of super-expensive deep-sea drilling rigs).

Think about it: more than 20 years before offshore drilling would make a meaningful impact to U.S. supplies.

We could spend the next two decades trying to feed our oil addiction...

Or we could use that time to focus on the development of new energy sources, greater conservation, and the simultaneous improvement of the health of our species and our planet.

Risking our coasts is the fool's route, the one that seemingly gets us off the hook but leaves our children in an even worse predicament.