Don't Look to Alaska to Solve Our Energy Woes

With BP's closure of Prudhoe Bay, can we all step back, take a big deep breath, and consider that Alaska is an inhospitable climate for massive oil drilling and in the long run has the potential to cost more than the oil extracted is worth.

It is folly to look to decimating our last wild places as a cure for our energy addiction. The United States controls three percent of the worlds petroleum reserves, but consumes 25% of the refined petroleum produced world-wide. It is a mathematical improbability that we can drill ourselves out of this hole. We are vulnerable to oil shocks, and will remain so, until our reliance on a petroleum-based energy policy is a thing of the past.

This is not a belweather signaling all-out drilling and wildcatting exploration. This is a wakeup call to find alternative energy sources while we still have a little time.