ethanol has not driven up the price of corn. The price of oil has driven up the price of corn. We can drill to our hearts content, but it does not change the fact that we do not have the refinery capacity to deal with it. By the way, fuel mileage on cars is actually lower than what it was in 1980.

Those commenters who are against drilling and think that we could have non-fossil fuel energy sources available to replace fossil fuels are the ones who are ignorant. This is not an "either or" situation. Why not a "both and" scenario. We drill in Anwar and off the coast as we look for alternative sources that are viable and make economic sense. Ethanol, for example, has not worked in that it lowers fuel economy 10-15% as well as has driven up the price of corn (and other perishables as a result of the corn shortage). Conservation is fine but conservation alone is not going to get us there...nor are alternative fuels (not in the short to medium terms). Get your heads out of the sand or whereever they are!

Just look at the liberals on this site and their comments. First one I saw was from one that claimed even though 83% are in favor of drilling now, it is US who are "idiots" Isn't it typical of the left to believe only they are smart enough to know what is best for us?

Others whine about pollution when there hasn't been an oil spill from off shore drilling in decades and in fact Norway and Britain have been drilling for years and years off their own coasts with not a single problem

Other claim it will take 10 years to get the oil on line. Total bull since if the process is fast tracked we could be burning gasoline from the new oil in 2-3 years. Plus if Clinton hadn't vetoes the ANWR drilling proposal passed in 1998 we would TODAY have that oil in the pipeline and we would be paying about $10.00-1.25 less per gallon for gasoline. Thanks Bill, thanks libs.

Libs whine we need to get off gasoline and onto something else. Fine, but what do we do in the meantime? they are so out of step with the great majority of Americans and yet they still stupidly claim it is they that are right and everyone else who is wrong. Their arrogance is stunning.

Liberalism is indeed a mental disor

How many years till we see this oil hit the market? Well, how many years do I have to go to school before I see a return? Guess I should just not go if it's not going to do anything for me right here, and right now. Instant gratification is the only solution to every problem? I guess that's why we are in the mess we are in now.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033884/posts

This poll was "freeped" by the RWNs on Freerepublic.com. It cannot be considered objective in any fashion once overrun by the radicals from that organization.

"Freerepublic.com - biasing polls wherever possible to advance our radical agenda!"

When you greenies get into your Prius after work this afternoon, look around. How much plastic do you see? Where does plastic come from?

OIL

They've tried green alternatives to plastic, but none were viable (trust me, I was on a testing team for a corn starch plastic; it was a joke).

Oil for fuel is miniscule compared to the other products we rely on it for...

I saw the word stupid used to describe anyone who support drilling for oil off our coast. I wonder how this person got his education. By riding a horse to a class in a tent heated with a wood fire? Maybe his clothes weren't manufactured by a textile mill powered by electricity (gee...how do they make that?)and he wore buckskins or maybe even fig leaves. We didn't become the industrialized nation that we are and will continue to be for decades to come with out the energy supplied by oil. Just the passing of this bill will pressure the oil market downward with the promise of future oil deliveries. Other competing oil producers will have to acknowledge the fact that we're shedding our asinine regulatory and environmental bondage that have hamstrung us in the past. Sure we will one day have to have other sources of energy, but we need relief now or the watershed consequences of high fuel prices are going to drive us into economic chaos. Conserve, yes; Ignore the truth, no.

And how many years before any of this oil actually hits the market?

Every year we are told how major oil companies break their previous profit-level while every day Americans are having to make major changes in their lifestyle to accommodate filling the oil companies profit pocket. We need to STOP the madness. Oil as a fuel needs to be COMPLETELY taken out of the picture. There have been several solutions to the problem. If big oil would stop hiring Blackwater associates to kill and intimidate everyone who threatens to weaken their monopoly, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

What do you do when you're hungry? You eat.
What do you do when you're thirsty? You drink.
Right now, this country needs oil..ergo, we drill for oil. At the same time, we in the private sector and who make up that power group called "consumers", start or continue to purchase vehicles that are economical to operate.
The internal combustion engine is still the most effective way to transport goods and people.

Oil spills are not an issue with deciding if off shore drilling should be allow. Oil getting into the ocean from offshore drilling is 1/4 of the oil from natural seepage. The #1 source by a factor of 10 is individual consumers changing the oil in the car and lawn equipment and no disposing of it properly.

And despite what the conspiracy nuts like to tell you, the mileage of a vehicle pretty much comes down to the weight. There is no magic high mileage cars out there that have been suppressed by evil people. There just hasn't been much consumer demand for ultralight, low power vehicles. High gas prices might push that demand but we're still only talking about a cost change of a few dollars a day to most consumers. Not really worth blowing $20k on a new vehicle that has very limited capability.

Let's set a goal and go for it! A goal we should reach by 2020.
Just like going to the moon, Americans love to strive for a real goal. This is one worth pursuing and addresses the REAL issue. Drilling for oil is the first step to energy independence for the USA. Followed by research in alternative fuels (hydrodgen), solar, nuclear, wind, and hydro electric. But guess what folks... Our economic engine runs on oil. Ride you bike if you must, but it is going to be a hard ride without tires and a seat. That's right, they're made from oil as well as all the other plastic and rubber components in your life. Getting ready to type a counter response? Look down, your keyboard just disappeared, cause it's made from oil too. And how about those sneakers on your feet? Rubber too. Oh, but your jeans are made from organic, all natural, free range cotton. Wrong! Are they dyed blue? Were they shipped in a truck? That's right, oil. So unless your ready to move back into the stone age, you better push or government to develop a real energy idenpendence plan. One that will get results, not just get someone elected.

There has never been a major oil spill from oil drilling platforms in this country. When Katrina went through the Gulf of Mexico there was not one oil spill from the oil drilling platforms located within Katrina's path or anywhere else within the Gulf of Mexico. The only oil spills that have occured along the coastal US has been from the oil tankers, period. Yes, we won't get oil overnight to ease the gas problem and neither will we get green cars or fuel overnight. Fifty years ago, as per an engineer at Carter Carburetor, they could have given the American consumer a CARBURETOR that got 60 miles per gallon then, but the car manufacturers with the oil companies didn't want them. Also about 20 years ago a famous race driver had developed a car which was getting over 70 miles per gallon and swore and be damned said, "I will build these cars for the consumers. It never got built. Why? Because the automakers bought up all the material to build them. You can't build or make something without the parts and materials.

So Mr. fab . . .I guess offshore drilling doesn't work and only ends in disaster??? I am pretty sure offshore drilling is used. The north atlantic, the gulf of mexico . . . what about those?
Some of the platforms in the gulf were damaged by Katrina, but no major oil spill.

what don't you understand; That the oil will not be ready before we could easily shift to non-fossil fuels?
That the erratic weather you have experienced is directly correlative to the burning of fossil fuels?
The impact this would have on our beaches and waterways, natural habitat and air quality are of no concern?
That this President has ignored and made it his top priority to mask all these truths for the sake of a continued subsistence on oil? That is what he and his cronies have made a mint on and so I guess I'm to understand that the majority of our inhabitants either don't believe the truth or don't care

Amazing that we are a community surrounded on three sides by water but no one seems to understand that a single spill will adversely effect this region to the tune of BILLIONS in clean-up. Not to mention the wholesale destruction of wildlife including sealife and marsh dwellers and the sitgma this region would suffer for years to come.

VB? Oh, that place that had the massive spill back in '11? Who goes there anymore, anyway?

I am supposed to ride my bike 30 miles a day to work? Carpool is great if I lived near co-workers, or worked for a large company or on the base. High fuel prices effect everyone and everything you buy. It effects the farmers and the cost to run the machinery (they don't all have ox teams) then the cost of shipping all materials by truck adds to the cost. Now I am supposed to buy another car? Maybe I need a large vehicle, like an SUV, because I have kids and I need to have a truck for work. As nice as public transportaion sounds I don't have an extra 4 hours a day to commute 15 miles each way. (That's right 2 hours each way from TCC at the beach to Greenbrier - via Lynnhaven Mall, Norfolk and Greenbrier mall). Let's at least threaten to drill for oil, maybe OPEC will react by increaing supply.

Right here in Virginia and gas prices did reach $3.00 a gallon..we had these same type of problems..Back then we still used regular gas with lead in it..I was driving a 73 super beatle at the time I used to syphon gas from school buses they used regular too at that time..it was in the late 70's

Not even close: http://www.randomuseless.info/gasprice/gasprice.html

There are other examples, but this graphic is the best out there.

Yes, for the most part four cylindered vehicles run with better mileage, however not all.

I believe what barneyc73913 was trying to convey that the cost of gas in the 1970's - after adjustments for inflation - was in the $3/gallon range. And he's 100% right. And as for 4 cyls getting great mileage - again, I agree with Barney. They do when compared to most 6 cyls and all 8 cyls.

First there's the matter of the leases. Remember the recent debacle where is few words omitted from a lease cost the government trillions in revenue? That was no accident friend. The people who will write these leases travel back and forth from K Street to your Congress with thousands of pages of legislation, already written, in their back pocket. So a person trying to rush an offshore drilling law through Congress might not have your best interests at heart.

And another thing. Are speculators and hedge fund managers the reason gas prices are so high right now? Some in Congress seem to think so.

Finally, remember this if nothing else. The oil companies are rolling in the dough, and the message travels by way of the money. What messages are you hearing?

Where were you living in the 70's? Gas prices were never near $3.00/gallon in this country. And not all four-cylindered vehicles get great mileage.

I find this ridiculous that so many people are for lifting this ban. Is everyone so stupid and lazy that they can't figure out how to conserve beyond their own selfishness? I'm glad that gas prices are finally going up, so people know what it's like in all the other countries around the world. Take a look towards Europe for your solutions and gain some common sense. While you're at it, start riding a bike, carpool with a co-worker, and sell that 1.5-ton piece of junk SUV sitting in your driveway.

I voted no with respect to the enviroment..I was taught back in the 70's when gas prices went as high as $3.00 a gollon how to conserve resources..all my cars and truck have four cylinders in them and average around 28-30 mpgs..seems like i was the only fool..everyone around me had to have these big suv's because they are safer...It seems that in the late 80's up till last year when gas started to sky rocket people were more worried about confort than anything else..you no bigger and more of with everything and being wasteful took on a whole new meaning..guess what peoples appetites are now starting to hurt their wallets.. Im kind of glad I lived all this time just below my means..I am slowly starting to reap my rewards..flooding the market with more oil only helps the oil companies and would take years to see the effects if any The US is hooked on oil like a crack head is on crack at some point we are going to have to find another drug or die when all our resources of oil are gone