then we can't arbitarily put large oil deposits off limits. No one - not you, not me, and not Robert Redford, really knows how much oil is under ANWR. I suggest we find out. It might indeed be too tiny to be worth drilling there. Then again, it might not.

Alternative energy is worth pursuing but it has to have a reasonable chance of being economically viable. For example, there was a lot of talk and effort directed at shale oil in the 1970s. Turns out things aren't as easy as some people made it sound.

Wind energy has improved over the years. According to the National Wind Technology Center, wind power costs 5 cents per kilowatt hour. That's a big improvement and may be competitive with some other forms of electricity generation. However, wind power isn't suitable for many parts of the country. We get high winds here from time to time (it was blowing about 50 MPH on Halloween), but most of the time the winds are mild. Most wind turbines are designed for 25-30 MPH wind speeds to produce their rated power. If the wind is blowing half that speed, the turbines produce only 1/4th of their rated power. It isn't linear, it's exponential.

Solar power is improving and getting cheaper, but it still costs quite a bit to produce. Tidal power has been tried at places like the Bay of Fundy (sp) with some success. Ocean thermal power shows some promise but I wonder about the enviromental effects, if any.

The point to all of this is that arbitarily putting big oil or natural gas fields off limits doesn't help the situation. We have to look at energy production and consumption as a whole. That means we have to consider everything from production through the delivery infrastructure to end user. Here's a good set of links from the Colorado School of Mines about energy issues. The issue is more complicated that it seems.