Let me ask you a question.

[cheapdate]

102. There has been offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico

since the 1930s. There has been a moratorium on oil and gas leasing off the west coast and highly restricted leasing off the Atlantic coast and the eastern Gulf of Mexico since the 1980s. In 2006 congress opened up new areas of the western Gulf of Mexico and in 2008 George W. Bush lifted restrictions on other areas that were protected by executive orders.

The Obama administration has moved to expand oil and gas leases in the western Gulf of Mexico. There aren't any planned sales of oil and gas leases for the Atlantic coast or the eastern Gulf of Mexico that I'm aware of. The moratorium on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is still in place.

Most of the oil we use in the United States is for transportation. We consume about 20 million barrels per day, most of which is used for transportation. The Obama administration has done more to support and expand alternative and renewable sources of energy than any other administration in my lifetime.

I'm sure that a lot more could be done if a majority in the congress would agree, but the fact is that a large segment of the American public are ideologically and ethically opposed to anything that might be considered "progressive" or that sounds like "environmentalism". Many are downright hostile toward it. The problem is bigger than one president acting alone with an opposition party controlling half of the congress.

I think the biggest step we could take would be to get rid of the automobile.