One of the themes from the Republicans is the need to allow more domestic exploration and (hopefully) production, even in so-called environmentally sensitive areas. This makes a great deal of sense, because the economic cost of subsidizing overseas energy producers, especially in the Middle East and Latin America, is far higher than it would appear, even given the vast sums being transferred directly. The hidden costs are the political strengthening of distasteful or hostile regimes, such as the Iranian government. The swaggering of these regimes lead directly to military and security expenditures, to say nothing of the human costs of casualties.

The price of these excessive environmental sensitivities is way too high. There is no reason, given investment which is well justified (pun intentional) at today’s prices, that the US cannot become self-sufficient in energy. Yes, adjustments will be needed, especially to supply the water and gas for exploitation of the oil shale and oil sands. But there is ample material in the ground to buy more than enough time to transition to non-fossil energy sources. This does not mean trashing the environment, it is perfectly possible to preserve the environment while making use of the resources. We do need a national commitment to do it, and if that means riding roughshod over a few vocal environmentalists who fear the worst, then so be it. Ms. Pelosi claims that she is “saving the planet.” What a heap. She is pandering to a well-funded and vocal environmental lobby at the expense of national security and the economic well-being of Americans.

Tyler Cowen estimates the net economic benefits of drilling in the ANWR alone at over $600 billion. Drill, baby, drill.