The benefits of oil independence

There’s nothing wrong with foreign oil, said Joel Stein in the Los Angeles Times. “It means other nations clog their beaches with ugly rigs, do dangerous work and suffer environmental disasters,” while drivers here in America get the gasoline. So it’s puzzling to hear both Barack Obama and John McCain fighting over who’s more serious about making the U.S. energy independent.

It’s obvious why we need to shake our addiction to foreign oil, said the Detroit Free Press in an editorial. We get two-thirds of our oil from overseas, and “much of it comes from lands that are engulfed in political turmoil.” The day when we achieve energy independence is the day when we can stop worrying that a disruption of supply will ruin our economy.

America needs to break its addiction to oil, period, said Nicholas Callero in the Oregon��s Statesman Journal. “Even if we drilled every last precious place in America, we have neither the oil reserves nor the ability to produce it in large enough quantities to make a dent in world oil prices.” Finding alternative fuels is the only way to really slash oil imports, and save the planet.

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It would take decades to switch over to alternative power sources, said Gregory Scoblete in RealClearPolitics. And, contrary to what many believe, kicking foreign oil won’t dry up terrorist financing, as Saudi Arabia and Iran will always be able to sell every drop they produce to booming China and India. “Like Santa Claus, energy independence is an alluring figment of our imagination.”