A high price

As the price of oil continues to climb and the cost of a gallon of gas races past $4, the clamor in support for increased oil drilling grows louder. Whether off-shore or in the pristine wilderness of Alaska in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve, expanded exploratory drilling long has been a contentious political subject. How much oil are we talking about? What will the real economic benefit look like? It's impossible to guess with any real precision.

Given the current climate, however, it's tempting to ignore the consequences which, in fairness, also are largely unknowable. With gas prices as high as they are, Americans need all the oil we can get.

But now imagine that oil is buried not below the barren tundra but below South Dakota's Badlands. Like the Wildlife Reserve in Alaska, it's pretty remote - especially if you're a lawmaker from a large coastal state. The animal populations aren't particularly valuable - prairie dogs and caribou. The nearest human populations to both sites are Native Americans or Alaskan Native tribes with about as much political and lobbying clout as those reindeer.

Of course, ANWR is much bigger than the Badlands - more than 19 million acres. This isn't a perfect analogy. But if the rigs were going up inside our natural treasure, all of a sudden it would be much harder to be in favor of erecting even a small amount of drilling. Oil, it is increasingly clear, is not the long-term answer to our energy needs. Big investments now - both monetary and philosophical - might not be wise. There might come a time when our situation is desperate enough to take that action. For now, though, we must resist the urge to let our SUVs think for us.
There always is a price for allowing short-term solutions to dominate our thinking, and sometimes that price is high. American governments have had ample opportunity to learn that lesson.

Yes, the price of oil is high. Some prices, though, are even higher.

-Argus Leader June 22nd
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