In an
essay co-authored with Spencer Abraham, energy secretary under President George W. Bush, Fred Upton of Michigan, the leading Republican candidate for chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in next year’s Congress, calls for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling, a massive increase in domestic deepwater oil production and a rapid expansion of nuclear power.
Yet “oil and nuclear are not the only energy sources we need more of,” the two write. “The current situation demands an ‘all of the above’ strategy — diversifying our energy portfolio and pushing development of our own natural resources. That means not just more oil and nuclear, but more coal, natural gas and renewables. Sooner rather than later.”