For a while now, there has been constant plee for us as a nation to completely get off of oil and rely on alternative sources of energy. Extreme environmentalists preach about global warming, and that we humans and our dependence on fossil fuels are the cause of it. I have read a few other reasons that don't involve us being the cause, but that is not the point of this blog entry. They think they know what is good and right for the planet, you, and everyone else. Don't get me wrong here, I have no problem with experimenting and using different types of energy, but it is necessary to deal with the problem at hand being our dependence on foreign oil that is causing our fuel prices to climb upwards. Too long we have been restricted by lobbyists and special interest groups to obtain domestic oil that would drive prices down. Too long they have put restrictions on the free market.

I believe if we had let the free market do its magic straight from the beginning, we would have cheap domestic oil and would be ahead of the game when it comes to alternative energies like solar, wind, nuclear, and geothermal. We would probably progress to a point when oil would be obsolete, but that should only be decided by the people through a free market, not a government bureaucracy, and that is what we are facing today.

We are being forced, either by law, taxation, or some other tyrannical form, to get completely off of oil and to use "green" energy instead. Try telling that to the 65 year old man who enjoys working on his Chevy on a Sunday morning, or the working parents who have to drive long distances to their jobs so they can put food on the table for their kids and pay higher prices to fill their gas tanks for the next week. These environmental lobbyists and special interest groups want higher gas prices to teach us "evil" humans a lesson about how we "harm" the planet. Do they realize that they are harming the common American by hitting our wallets? Do they realize that high gas prices leads to higher prices on delivered goods? Are they even listening to the people they represent? Families are struggling to stay afloat because of ridiculous legislation preventing off-shore drilling and drilling in Alaska.

Personally, I like and respect the environment; I recycle and conserve gas and electricity when I can, but hurting your fellow American by wanting higher fuel prices is tyranny. We should be able to drill for oil and use alternative energy at the same time as the free market would allow us to. I believe that all our economic problems can be solved by a truly free market if we allow it to do its magic.

Benjamin Dickmann