Your Oct. 18 editorial on the folly of an energy policy that sees oil as the answer to our problems was right on the money.

Fortunately, so many editorial writers and other citizens delivered this message to Washington that the U.S. Senate voted Nov. 1 to send an oil- and nuclear-oriented energy bill back to the drawing boards.

But legislation is needed. We cannot continue to stumble along on our current course. The Congress now needs to hear that the public is concerned about energy and wants a forward-looking policy emphasizing energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy sources.

We appreciated your defense of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its unique natural qualities. Maine’s senior senator, Majority Leader George Mitchell, agrees that this special sanctuary deserves protection. He voted in committee Oct. 17 for a bill that would designate the refuge’s coastal plain a wilderness area — and thus off-limits to the oil industry. George T. Frampton Jr. President The Wilderness Society Washington, D.C.