The public intensely dislikes offshore drilling, but its environmental effects have proved minimal, and offshore strikes have been the best energy news of the last 20 years, preventing widely predicted oil and gas depletion. Indeed, most of the potential production gains from the Bush plan come from opening wilderness and coastal areas to drilling. Americans may not like this new exploration, but they can't demand cheap fuel and then be squeamish about where it comes from. Maybe seeing drill rigs in national parks would make buyers face the truth about their SUVs. One is a loose proposal for a governmentsponsored initiative to manufacture alternative fuels from agricultural products.
Most analysts consider alternative fuels a highly promising idea.
Yet the administration's plan for public support of alternative fuels should raise red flags, especially among conservatives. Alternative fuels will catch on when they are cheap enough to attract buyers. Greenhouse concerns also receive no notice from Bush. Because of the link between fossil fuels and greenhouse buildup, climate policy and energy policy are one and the same. Yet the administration is pushing its energy production agenda right away, while globalwarming questions are put on hold.