Reply #12: There are several issues that I have thought about with regards to offshore drilling

[Jennicut]

No one wants to admit as Dems and liberals that they help contribute to America's dependence on fossil fuels. It does make our world what it is an we are very used to that way of life. I don't see anyone here advocating to go back to a lifestyle of early America. None of us want to be dependent on foreign resources.
On the other hand, drilling off shore might not produce much. It could be a gap measure until alternatives are further developed or it could be a drop in the bucket. Something tells me, considering the way T. Boone Pickens has talked about it, the estimates of what is there is much lower then has been predicted in the past. And Obama could essentially eliminate this issue as the savior Rethugs think it will be. If not much is there, then the US will have to either be totally dependent on foreign oil or actually put the money into developing alternatives. I would say nuclear energy has more promise to be the the gap measure then offshore drilling does but it remains controversial. James Lovelock, who developed the theory of Gaia, is worth looking into, and thinks alternatives are waste of time and don't work. He advocates for nuclear energy as the best method to stop climate change. I don't have all the answers but like looking outside the box.