Compass: Drill drill drill

The Bush Administration continues to drumbeat its only solution to our country's energy problems: drill, drill, and drill some more for oil.

Yesterday the Bureau of Land Management released a statement saying "most of the oil and more than 40 percent of the natural gas beneath public lands in the United States are off limits to drilling."

They seem to think drilling in these protected areas would lower gas prices. Here's the response from Carl Pope:

"Drilling in federally protected areas is not the answer to our energy problems and will do nothing to ease pain at the pump. It is telling that the Bush administration focuses on the percentage of oil and gas that is not currently available for drilling, rather than the oil and gas that is currently available. Opening protected areas will only offer “relief” to the oil industry which is already raking in billions of dollars in profit records.

"The Bush administration’s 'drill everything' policy does nothing to help American consumers. It only helps Big Oil. More drilling increases our dependence on fossil fuels, destroys natural treasures, and contributes to global warming. Drilling is a short-term fix for an addiction we need to end.

"The honest answer to our oil problem is to use less of it, and that means better fuel efficiency, more transportation choices and more renewable energy. Instead of the failed policies of the past, we need to shift our priorities—and our policies—toward creating a clean energy economy."

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