I think between solar,geothermo,wind, clean coal and nuclear we don't have to cut back on our energy consumption. Just have to move away from foreign energy.
I"ll bet you think you can drink whiskey from a bottle of wine, too... or get blood from a turnip, or that you really can have a free lunch energy-wise.
The reason alternative energy hasn't been more widely used is because it's still more expensive than petroleum, even at today's prices. so if we want to spend less on energy, we need to use less, regardless of the source or where the money's going. That's economic reality.
And the reason energy giants are pushing domestic drilling isn't for our benefit at all, but to benefit their own bottom line. domestic drilling won't increase world production by a full percentage point, or the price enough to matter, but oil so obtained will fatten their bottom line. they'll pay uncle sam less than the going rate, yet still sell it at prevailing world prices. They'll also pay less to transport it to market. And, of course, the more we consume, the more money they make...
The other side of it that nobody wants to examine squarely, at all, is the fact that enormous populations in India, China and other parts of the world are stirring, clearing away the economic wreckage of colonialism, imperialism and bad govt in general. They're reaching for what we already have, and are rapidly becoming alternative buyers in the world marketplace. They'll keep demand going up, and prices, too, even though they earn a lot less. That's because there's a whole lot of them, and because they'll get a helluva lot more utility from the same gallon of gas than we will. 80 mpg motorbike vs 8 mpg hummer, to accomplish basically the same purposes. billions of consumers vs a few hundred million...
But, uhh, what would I know, right? go ahead, chump out, buy that SUV and that 5000sqft house in the exurbs, 40 miles from where you work. Get it all for nothing down and forever to pay. Just don't blame me when you're eatin' beans and rice every night, juggling the bills, wishin' the place had two fireplaces instead of one so you could stay a little warmer... watching the price of what used to be cheap foreign goods fly out of sight because the value of your money went into the septic tank... Wishing you didn't have negative equity so you could get out from under...
Welcome to the free market global economy, where only the air is free...