There is a way to provide instant relief from high oil prices. It should be announced that permitting of new nuclear generating stations and processing time for oil leases is to be streamlined. Drilling is to be allowed everywhere. Coal to liquid plants, along with wind, solar and tidal will be encouraged.

Then oil prices will drop.

The reason that oil companies have not drilled on large portions of their lease acreage is that seismic work indicates there are no hydrocarbons there.

If it is unacceptable to drill in many areas of the U.S., then it is unacceptable to drill in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, North Sea, Canada, Mexico, etc.

Congress has no ability to control the price of a global commodity. We need to heat our homes, operate our cars, trucks, boats, trains, planes, fertilizer plants, plastic plants and more.

Congress should get out of the way, so that T. Boone Pickens, and so many others can get on with the job.

John Smolski

Pembroke