Responsible Drilling is the Way to Go

Like many of you, I've been following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This tragic environmental disaster is partly the result of America's unworkable energy plan. We wouldn't need to drill hundreds of miles off the coast, in thousands of feet of water if we had access to fossil fuel deposits located onshore in the United States.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska is a perfect example of how we can drill safely and in an environmentally responsibly way on land we already control. ANWR is the size of South Carolina and it holds millions of barrels of oil. Contrary to what some might have you believe, we would only need to make a footprint the size of Kansas City International Airport within ANWR in order to access those reserves.

Because of self-imposed onshore drilling limitations, America is more dependent than ever on foreign sources of energy. The only way we can become less dependent on overseas oil is to develop American sources of energy, like ANWR and our massive reserves of oil shale in other western states.

As world demand for oil increases, the price of gas will only continue to increase. We need to take advantage of our own resources and stop shipping billions of dollars a year to distant countries that don't like us and don't support us.

It's dangerous and expensive to depend on foreign sources of oil, especially when we have plenty of it right here in America.

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Sincerely,

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Sam Graves