I could not agree with you more. We are going backwards rather than forwards in our search for energy and financial independence. We have built a new nuclear plant in decades, we have essentially stopped offshore drilling for oil and natural gas and new coal plants are very hard to find. The delay, especially the nuclear has been caused by a group of environmental fundamentalists and our legal system, allows them to endlessly delay needed construction needed for energy independence.

They have not only succeeded in stopping new power generation; they have made it impossible for the US to build much needed refineries and the desperately needed smart grids. They have shut down the source of much of our fruit and vegetable supply, the san joaquin valley, to ensure the survival of a species that no one knew existed until a few years ago- this critical species - the delta smelt, a two inch long minnow that provides no economic value to anyone. As a result, we will have to import vegetables from China (does shutting down US industry and sending the jobs to China sound familiar to anyone?) Approximately 40,000 productive farmers and workers are out of jobs and on welfare and we will further increase our balance of trade deficit.

Breaking free of the influence of the environmentalists will require that Congress give the executive branch authority to place nuclear plants, coal plants, refineries and the smart grid that cannot be overruled by the courts - a step I heartily dislike, but a necessary one. The administration needs wartime powers and be able to execute them without interference from the judicial branch, just as was done for the Manhattan project during WWII. This is constitutional, however Congress has never needed to invoke its authority to do this. During WWII, it was understood that the nation was at war and the executive branch needed to be free to conduct the war as necessary.

Lesser measures will not allow us to force the extremist environmental zealots to release their choke hold on the US economy and our future.