I have to admit, I find it odd that every environmentalist in the country is up in arms about drilling here... Now, firstly, I'm a pretty green sort of fellow... I ride my bike, I compost, I prefer to use sunlight or candles when possible, computer's controlling lights and fans in the house so when they're not needed, they're not on... So on, and so forth... Could I do more, well, couldn't we all, but the point is, I do care about my environment...
Thing is, in this country, we have probably some of the strictest standards for nearly everything... Food quality, building codes, and, I would imagine, drilling for oil. Just because we get it from overseas does NOT mean that the planet is safe, or the environment unscathed... Somehow, I don't think that any of the powers that be running a middle eastern, or South American oil field give two cents notice whether or not baby seals are covered in oil, or coral reefs are smashed up. At least when you drill in your own backyard, you can look out the kitchen window and keep an eye on the proceedings.
The arguement that it's going to take 5 years to get said oil, so it's not worth our time boggles my mind... 5 years from today is a lot better than 5 years from 5 years from now, nevermind the fact that it's just not a good arguement... If the founding fathers had that attitude, well, where would we be? "I think we should fight for independence... Yeah, but it's going to take a while, not going to happen overnight. Oh, forget it then..." I absolutely believe that we need to keep going in the search for alternative, better, and cleaner fuels, but the point is, our infrastructure is based on petroleum, has been for nearly 100 years or so. How many hundreds of thousands of cars are on the road right now? Can't forget the present when you look to the future...