USA import 62% of its oil. Its replacement with the nuclear energy is decades away and dems are against nukes.
Alternative energy is technologically non-existent.
The only way to be free from the foreign oil is to drill our own (and our resources - either Alaska, or shelf, or shale) are enomous.

New oil exploration takes decades as well..
Alternative energy is VERY real.. i know tons of people with Solar panels on their houses being totally grin neutral.
Companies like UPS and FedEx run their sorting facilities on Solar.
The problem with Solar/Wind is variable input flow.. our grid would have to be upgraded to handle massive inflow on it. However it's a good investment.

В Германии какой план? По моему 30% к 15 году и они его перевыполняют... А самая крутая страна в мире... То бишь Америка -- все хочет по советски солярку через дырки в земле доставать... :-D Я просто не понимаю какие проблемы с альтернативной энергией если другие страны делают это совершенно спокойно... :-P

the top Solar company in the world ( best solar technology ) is actually based in AZ.

New oil exploration takes decades as well..
Shelf is already explored (CNOOC, China, will start drilling oil near between Cuba and States in the nearest future).
Congress prohibits drilling on shelf for the US companies.
ANWR could be operational very quickly.
Shale oil would take longer, but nothing even close to making alterantive energy viable.

Every girl scout knows the fact, that USA, with its mere 5% of global population, hogs about 25% of the planet’s sacred resources. That is my child, because we got brains and money, to afford such consumption, comparing, of course, to the remaining 95% of the global shmucks.(tr)
And we are not about going on a diet, like that dude from the Subway commercial. ;-) Speaking of food, USA with its mere 5% of global population consumes about 30% of global beef, yep, them stakes we live. And also, manage to be the net exporter of beef.
Say, how come we can’t have the same robust production in energy sector? Well, the answer is obvious - envirowackos!

Should actually read -"...but nothing even close to the time needed to make an alternative energy viable".

The problem is that we can’t store electricity on an industrial scale. It must be made “to order“.
Solar or Wind is nice, but can’t meet power demand 24 hours a day. Nuclear can! And yes, it is nice to feed solar electricity back to the grid during the day, and to buy it back at night when we actually need the lights. But who is producing that electricity then? 20% Nukes, 1% from Wind and the rest … still fossil fuel.
Also energy must be produced close to the consumer. And it may not be the sunniest or windiest place. It should also be noted that even as the world’s temperature is changing, and the average wind speed is decreasing.

Nukes need no sun or wind. Nuclear power plants, emit virtually nocarbon dioxide, actually less than Solar does. And back to envirowackos- we do not need the government to subsidize the future, we need thegovernment to put proper legislations to promote production of energyfrom the REAL source of it, and prevent lies by the Green church inhalting the growth of our economy.

it's very telling about the heart-bleeding liberals :-) - polute the rest of World but not us...the truth of the matter is we have the technology that's been very environmentally safe, safer than in many places we buy oil from...