Black gold rush

Politics | America first—except when it comes to drilling domestic oil | Mark Bergin

U.S. dependence on foreign oil has buzzed recently to the high end of politically stylish policy issues, Democrats and Republicans alike scrambling to curry favor with talk of conservation, hybrid vehicles, and alternative energy sources. Calls for stateside drilling, however, remain hotly contested—shrouded by opposition from an unyielding environmentalist lobby.

Buried beneath a coastal strip of tundra in northeastern Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), billions of barrels of oil lie untapped, according to consensus geological estimates. President George W. Bush has advocated harvesting that massive reserve but has yet to push through any favorable legislation. Five times various House-approved measures to commence drilling have suffered Democrat-led filibusters in the Senate. Now, a rogue wave of Republicans has jettisoned a filibuster-proof drilling provision attached to a House budget bill.