Produce our own

EDITOR: Everyone agrees that we must learn from the BP spill, but your conclusion that we should permanently ban offshore drilling in Northern California ("Oil slick," Editorial, Thursday) makes sense only if California virtually stops using oil and gas.

We Californians consume more oil than any other state, but we want it produced elsewhere since all energy production carries environmental risks. Due to our low educational rankings, we don't understand the physics of energy production. For example, we all want better batteries, but the laws of physics and chemistry dictate they will use more reactive and toxic chemicals. Will we mine and manufacture them in California? No chance.

We "environmentally sensitive" Californians are the world's most profligate consumers, but we want everything produced elsewhere, lest factories, mines, oil wells or quarries pollute our neighborhoods.

We should be willing to produce as much as we consume. If not, our unemployment rate will keep increasing as we continue to outlaw or bury in red tape efforts to produce locally instead of sending jobs overseas.

JOHN BRABYN

Bodega