Antoinette energy policy.(alternative fuels)(Brief article)

The Bush administration would like to open up a 2-million-acre energy-rich area in deep waters 100 miles south of Florida. The proposed drilling zone is estimated to contain nearly half a billion barrels of oil and 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That's enough to run half a million vehicles and heat half a million homes for 15 years. Liberal environmentalists and allied politicians like Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), however, argue against increasing America's domestic energy supplies. They want the government to put all its effort into discouraging consumption. New drilling, they say, would only slow development of alternative fuels.

They have some Republican allies. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) wants to prevent any energy exploration within 150 miles of his state's shores. He laments that "there is a seemingly insatiable appetite to put the gas in the hands of the oil companies. We need a point of ...