So, Doug, you rejoice at the start of desecration of the Refuge? Spoken like a true Philistine. Your attitude, like that of your mighty leader, goes a long way toward explaining why the US is so beloved the world over.

"Not the total answer"--how about a 2% difference in 10 years in foreign oil dependency, according to Bush's own DOE? Anything but fuel economy standards, eh? Heaven forbid we should detract from your current comfortable lifestyle one whit.

By the way, what newspaper are you quoting with your 10.4 billion barrels? According to the Wall St Journal 17 March 2005, estimates of oil under the Refuge range from 6 to 10 billion. I wonder why you just happened to settle on the high end. And why does your figure have any more validity than any other by "experts", who are all over the map? Pardon me when I prefer the Journal's reporting over any impeccable source you may somehow come up with.