Offshore drilling could take seven to 10 years before oil is even is even produced. Then there's no guarantee that prices will drop at the pump.

Do our politicians really expect us to believe that this oil will be kept and sold in the United States at a reduced price? Even the oil that runs through the Alaskan pipeline doesn't; it's sold to China and Japan.

We live in a global society and resources are sold on the open market to the highest bidder. China and India are rapidly becoming this century's middle class. As they continue to discover the joys of driving, demand for fossil fuel will increase and so will the price.

Please contact your leaders in Washington and urge them not to continue the failed policies of the past and be distracted by offshore drilling. The time to invest in clean energy is now. Even T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oil billionaire, knows that offshore drilling is not the answer. Clean energy technology like wind and solar power is.

Susan Billings
Cleveland