To the editor:

Recently, Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Kit Bond of Missouri stated that by drilling into Rocky Mountain shale and into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil, our nation’s dependence on oil will be greatly reduced.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

Bond and McConnell need to better understand the ABCs of becoming energy independent. That is: (A.) alternate energy from solar sources, wind and turbines; (B.) biofuel production from sugar cane, sugar beets and corn; (C.) coal burning, without emitting carbon dioxide.

In summary, while $4 a gallon gas is depressing, Brazil, a nation nearly the size of the U.S. recently declared itself energy independent by virtue of robust production of sugar cane.

As for America, our future, energy-wise, is not bleak either. After all, we are the “Saudia Arabia of coal.”

Robert Hinton,
Lawrence