By The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Part of the response from the Democratic side of Congress after President Bush called on the body to approve legislation allowing oil and gas drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is worth repeating just for the “wow” factor.

It's no solution, goes a portion of the argument, because it would be more than 10 years before it could come into production.

Wow, if only President Bill Clinton hadn't vetoed ANWR exploration 13 years ago.

The status of that sliver of the coastal plain is still in limbo. No wilderness designation, no exploration allowed; it just sits there as it was set aside nearly 30 years ago. Now, with drilling technology advanced light years since those days and oil topping $100 a barrel - on its way to $200 according to news reports about the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries - the scales on this decision have tipped decidedly in favor of responsible development.

ANWR exploration and development would not only boost our economy but the resulting oil and gas could help immeasurably as well. Is 10 years from now too late? Hard to say for sure. But do we want to be asking the same question again 10 years from now?

Under the threat of OPEC's visions of $200-a-barrel oil and environmental and energy cost concerns as a whole, this country should be putting its all into issues surrounding its lifeblood - energy.

The need for hydrocarbon fuels is not going to disappear within a decade, but we can make great strides in alternative energy development in 10 years. This is a nation of creative minds. With fuel prices affecting every inch of our economy, things like synthetic fuels and other alternative energy sources will grow in practicality and take hold with consumers. Long-term solutions do take time to develop and to evolve for broad-based use.

Perhaps as we reduce the demand for hydrocarbons, we can bring ANWR production online as a resource that provides a much higher percentage of the national demand for fossil fuels than it would if it were online today.

ANWR is not a magical cure. With its billions of gallons of oil and gas reserves, it isn't even the biggest part of the U.S. energy picture, but it can make a big difference and it certainly should be a part of that picture.