ANWR

Yesterday the Senate voted to block oil drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge.

I have mixed feelings on this. Opening ANWR is not going to alleviate our dependence on foreign oil. Some estimate it could lower our dependence by about 2%. Still, 2% is nothing to scoff at.

Although I don't think drilling in ANWR is going to have much impact on the environment, I'd rather see more legislation and incentives enacted to help lower our energy usage. People in the United State use more energy than any other nation by a significant margin, and it cannot continue forever.

Let's focus on reducing our oil consumption rate. Our automakers could make our cars more fuel efficient, but they don't because they aren't forced to. The government could place extra luxury taxes on SUVs. These are nothing but status symbols anyway. Also, the government could give tax breaks to people who drive manual transmissions, which have better fuel economy--people who drive hybrid cars already get a similar break. Probably the best thing the government could do is start educating the public about our energy problems.