Domestic Oil and Gas Production Is a Must

Open letter to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) Texas:

Dear Senator Hutchison,
I have read your. Letter concerning your position on a national energy policy, and am sorry to see that you are not applying proper logic to the problem.
For example, you say that you support a comprehensive energy strategy that combines conservation, the development of alternative sources of energy, and the use of domestic oil and gas production. Of the three items you mention, the only logical one is "use of domestic oil and gas production". Consideration of the other two only tends to dilute and waste our energies in an unproductive manner.
Conservation should be a standard procedure in all of operations, not only in energy usage. Excessive consideration of conservation tends to give an unbalanced approach, since it is obvious that conservation alone can do little to supply us with the increased energy we need for continued economic development.
Even more significant as an item of interference is consideration of alternative sources of energy. The alternative sources are generally listed as wind, solar, and nuclear. Of these only nuclear has the potential to be economically competitive with the burning of fossil fuels, which includes coal, oil, and natural gas. I have said previously that government subsidies for all forms of energy should be immediately terminated, and particularly those for wind and solar, which is taxpayer money down a rat hole.
While I appreciate your attempt to be unbiased and consider energy in all forms, you must go further by sorting out the ridiculous. Immediately eliminate all subsidies and reduce restrictions on oil and gas drilling to encourage local production.
Do not fall into the traps of considering "sustainability", and the crying of environmentalist extremists. No one really knows the extent of oil and gas reserves. We continue to find "gushers", such as in the BP Gulf oil spill. If we ever run short in your lifetime and even that of your grandchildren, you can depend upon American ingenuity to come up with the necessary alternatives. Government's best position is to stay out of the way and not fritter away taxpayer money.