Man made energy crisis

The talk on the news of $4 a gallon gas and record prices for various forms of energy is getting old.

I typically avoid bring politics into my discussions, but when the decisions made by our leaders interfere with my ability to provide for my family it is hard. This energy crisis is a direct result of policies and laws prohibiting private industry from "harvesting" the abundant sources of energy spread out through our country.

Keep in mind that I truly love the country that I live in and I love the natural beauty within its borders. We cannot, however, set ourselves on a path of economic disaster to combat hypothetical environmental effects that have not been proven.

We all need to keep in mind that we live in a global economy and are effected not only by what we do but also the action of others. For example, China is drilling for oil less than 100 miles off the coast of Florida, but our laws prohibit us from doing the same. The United States is in a much better position to minimize any environmental impact caused by the gathering of resources. Laws requiring our power plants, cars, and industry to be "green" will not offset the policies of emerging countries that belch pollutants into the global environment.

Ultimately, the United States government is performing a massive redistribution of wealth by prohibiting the prosperity of our country while others are left to reap the benefits.

All I ask is for each person to evaluate how much they are willing to pay!