So a moderate level of blame to the US congress. The right will probably point to restrictions on refining capacity (somewhat reasonable point, but debatable how much capacity we should add as it simply feeds overzealous consumers who generally have low regard for conservation). They'll also point to restrictions on ANWAR, which wouldn't be producing any significant amount today even if congress had approved it in 2001. The left will point to refusal to implement measures encouraging significant conservation (CAFE and the like) for whats been approaching on 20 years. You know what? They're both right, to some extent. Either increased capacity or reduced demand would ease prices. Personally, I'm in favor of working to reduce demand, but that does not change the validity of the point that increased production would help reduce prices. The question to me though is if more measures should be taken to help improve the environment rather than degrade it further (obviously, I'd say yes)
