Congressman Lamar Smith on "Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge"

> Smith said he also favors opening part of the protected Arctic National
> Wildlife Refuge in Alaska for drilling, stating that oil reserves there
> could offset 20 percent of the oil imported from Saudi Arabia.

I wholeheartedly disagree. Why does it seem prudent to offer a short-term offset to current demand by tapping what is a valuable resource today, in our energy-inefficient environment, when it could be an invaluable resource in a future energy-efficient environment. We don't need it now, with either a strict or loose definition of need. What we need to do is get sustainable. Oil is not sustainable. This country certainly has the creative energies needed to get from where we are now to where we need to be. Let's tap that energy instead.