This week’s email brought a plea for help from Sen. John Ensign:

Hitting Nevada Budgets: Gas Prices Rise To New Record Levels

As gas prices continue to gouge the bank accounts of Nevadans across our state, I have been fighting for the family budget back in Washington, D.C. I took to the Senate floor this week to argue against the Democrat’s Climate Tax Bill which would increase the price of gas by 53 cents. As I have previously stated, we must begin to explore for more American energy, which includes the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and establishing offshore deep sea exploration. The concept of securing our long-term energy security is not a political talking point and shouldn’t be used as such; it’s a matter of national security. As gas prices continue to climb, with many asking how high the ladder is before we reach the top, Congress must act.

I need your help. I am asking for you to drive this message into action by sharing the impact gas prices are having on your life. I’ll pass them along to my colleagues in the Senate so they can get a real sense of the toll these prices are taking on family budgets in Nevada. I believe we must put a face on this crisis, and I know these stories will help keep the heat on Washington to bring real solutions to this problem.

If you are willing to share your story, I would be grateful. Please take a few minutes to send me an e-mail describing the impact these prices have had on your life. Please be sure to include your name, address, and a phone number where my office can reach you should we have any further questions regarding your situation.

Congress must take action and stop sitting on the sidelines while gas prices continue to one-up American families. Your stories will help this fight.

My response to his plea:

My husband and I are retired and on a fixed budget. And, while we’re finding it more difficult to deal with the price increases in petroleum products and their filter-down effects on darn-near everything we use, opening up the Alaskan wilderness for the Gas/Oil companies to pillage is NOT the answer.

Maybe you should do some research on the subject. Here’s a just a few articles I’ve read on the subject recently:

• Myths about drilling operations in the Alaskan Wild Life Reserve
• Arctic Refuge Drilling Controversy — In total, the oil deposits in ANWR contain enough oil to solely support U.S. consumption for 7 months (4.3B estimate) to 19 months (12B estimate). If used to completely replace oil imported from the Persian Gulf (775M barrels in 2007), oil from ANWR would last from approximately 5.5 years (4.3B estimate) to 15 years (12B estimate).
• Legislating limits — even the bill which would place a 2000 acre limitation would inundate the ANWR region

There’s not enough oil in ANWR to make a real difference for a real long time and I’m not willing to let the profiteering oil companies rape that fragile area as well the American public. I seriously doubt they’d even be willing to even drill in the area if you were to limit the profit they could charge to say 12% (that’s the typical limit imposed on electrical utilities and they have money to reinvest into their businesses). Save ANWR as a strategic reserve. Find another way! As they say, “think outside the box” for a change. Stop doing business as usual and find a more novel approach and a real solution to the problem before us.

For example, we live in Winnemucca and darn near everything we need can be found within 2-4 miles from our house. Sure if we need to go to Reno or Elko for something that can’t be found locally, that’s another story, but we’re doing that less and less. The bulk of our travel is well within the “40 mile” limit of an electric car. Why can’t I buy an electric car? Because I can’t find one. Every electric car that was being leased and tested in California was removed from service and destroyed … despite the fact that their leasors/testers offered to purchase them. They even chained themselves to their cars hoping to impede the tow truck from forcibly taking their EV1 electrical vehicles away. It was a project that worked, that had consumer support and that still does, and GM killed it.

Well, Bellevue-based AFS Trinity Corporation is developing a plug-in hybrid vehicle that gets 150 miles per gallon. Why don’t you support that instead? Subsidize the development of that vehicle to make it more readily available to the masses. I’d buy one! Or better yet … subsidize a program that would convert currently-owned SUVs for plug-in hybrid capability. My Ford Explorer will be paid for in December … but if there was a company out there that could convert it for plug-in hybrid capability … I’d seriously consider the investment.

Even better yet … India has a first ever commercial “air-powered” car … the CityCat with a top speed of 68 mph and a range of 125 miles. Hello … if we always rely on the oil companies and the big three to meet our needs, it’s ALWAYS going to be more of the same until they’ve wrung every drop of oil from the planet. Find and support another way! It’s out there. You just have to have the courage to pursue a different course and stop listening to lobbyists from big oil and Detroit’s Big 3.