Let’s get one thing straight right from the beginning. The environment was made to support mankind; mankind was not made to support the environment. Is that clear?

The mating habits of a snail darter fish or other member of the endangered species club is not the yardstick by which we determine how American civilization should develop and function. Hopefully the habitat of the snail darter can be preserved, and the darter doesn’t have to be turned into a can of sardines. No one would deliberately destroy an endangered specie’s habitats, at least no one rational. But if in the scheme of things it is impossible to protect the habitat of an endangered species without doing harm to humans or to their way of life, then the worth of human life has to prevail.

We are the most technologically advanced, innovative, inventive and resourceful nation in the world. But we do not cultivate, steward, mine, utilize or avail ourselves of the resources God has provided us. When did the American spirit go so awry? Why is it now standard policy to neglect and ignore our energy resources while buying energy from foreign countries who dishonor and despise us and use the money to war and plot against us and our friends, such as Israel. Wake up America! It is time to stop financing antagonistic and erratic governments in exchange for the energy that keeps our country running.

The primary goal for the next quarter century should be to make the United States of America fully energy independent — of foreign oil. America’s supplies of unexplored and untapped sources of oil, both off-and-on shore are more than sufficient to meet the nation’s energy needs, especially in the transportation area. America’s energy requirements can be met by American produced clean-burning-coal, natural gas and nuclear power. Even now nearly half of the country’s energy needs are met by coal, and we have enough coal in the ground to easily meet the nation’s remaining needs through the end of the century.

Imagine a United States of America independent of foreign oil – and not just independent but economically vibrant as a result. New clean burning coal-fired plants could bring billions of investment dollars to states and concurrently provide thousands of new jobs as well. What an economic opportunity for each state to decide for itself whether or not to welcome the construction of clean-coal-fired plants.

Unfortunately current policies are taking the nation in the opposite direction – toward one of energy dependence and economic stagnation. Before the presidential election candidate Obama promised that if in his efforts to “green” America he thought it necessary, he would not hesitate to spike the American people’s utility bills and, at the same time, force bankruptcy on the coal industry. He is in the process of doing just that.

He and his advisors are keenly aware that if the American people are given honest, unvarnished facts they will come to the right conclusions and make the right choices, and those choices will not support the program he is trying to ram down our throats. For they know full well that the United States can produce — from existing domestic energy sources — all the oil needed to satisfy the nation’s energy, fuel and transportation requirements.

And the Three Mile Island incident proved beyond question that nuclear energy plants are safe and, in a disaster, do exactly what they are designed to do. When the emergency occurred at Three Mile, the reactor shut itself down with no damage to the local community and no loss of life. This is as safe as it gets. 

The citizens of Oklahoma City have demonstrated that the American people would gladly rally behind an effort to develop and use our domestic energy resources. They have chosen to allow oil rigs to be built and to pump oil right in the middle of their delightful city. And the local newspapers, magazines and TV news shows aren’t full of stories about how offended Oklahoma’s citizens and wildlife are. One might, therefore, wonder why so many political, academic and news media elites in and around the nation’s capital whine so much about caribou and other wildlife being offended by oil rigs pumping in ANWAR Alaska. 

God has blessed this great country – within our geographical borders – with all that is necessary to make America fully energy independent. So let us ignore the false leads coming out of the White House, Capitol Hill, academia, and the news media and put the nation on course to be energy independent with the resulting economic vitality that will bring. Let us, the American people, set as one of our primary goals for the 21st Century, voting into office only those leaders who are determined to make the United States energy independent.

We can’t rely on presidential leadership to get the job done because no one who works in the White House seems to have any interest in getting the nation’s energy policies and priorities straight. And that fact is as clear as the electrical light bulbs the administration is trying to ban.