For our national security; for our economy; for the sake of our least advantaged citizens; we must become energy independent. We can no longer allow ourselves to be at the mercy of foreign interests that control the world's supply of oil. We must also acknowledge that our economy will continue to be dependent on carbon based energy for many years. Other forms of energy are not even close to replacing oil. We must open every possible area of the United states to the environmentally safe production of oil, gas and coal.