Jim DiPeso Oil Quotations

If anything, Katrina has spotlighted the increasing perils of our heavy dependence on oil. There is no prospect whatsoever that opening the Arctic Refuge and protected offshore areas to drilling would reduce the nation's energy supply and price vulnerabilities. Whether it comes from off America's coasts, from Alaska's Arctic via an aging aboveground pipeline, or from the politically unstable Middle East, oil is an increasingly vulnerable energy source. Heavy oil dependence leaves our economy wide open to price and supply shocks.

We need to get off the oil dependence treadmill, we need to do it fast, and we need to start now. The single most important step we can take is to boost fuel economy standards significantly. Unfortunately, the Transportation Department's weak proposal shows that Washington lacks the will to face up to the problem and help solve it.