I was watching Jay Leno's monologue last night (I think it was a rerun) and he was making a joke about the Republicans wanting to open up the Alaskan preserves to oil companies for drilling, and the Democrats were blocking it, saying it wouldn't help for at least 10 years. Leno's joke was something like, "You know, the same thing they said TEN YEARS AGO."

Which is funny, and points out how un-forward thinking most people, let alone politicians, are in this country, regardless of whether drilling in the ANWR is a good idea or not (I don't think it's a good idea, but I admit I don't have enough information to have a concrete opinion.)

Then somewhere, maybe on one of the blogs here even, I read that the oil companies aren't even drilling on around 1/2 of the lands they already have permission and leases to drill on. Is this true? What sort of oil is under there?

I know in southern Illinois, especially around Olney, Illinois, there are oil reserves, and the wells are capped. I was told years ago that with oil prices so low it didn't make economic sense to pump out that oil, that it couldn't be done profitably.

It would seem that oil prices are high enough now to make it profitable to begin opening up these oil fields again, and before the ANWR is opened. Unless the quality of this oil is so poor that it wouldn't work for today's needs (something I have a hard time believing, but wouldn't dismiss outright), there is no reason to not be working domestic oil fields, wherever they may be, be it Illinois or Texas or Louisiana or wherever.

Unless there is a more sinister reason for not opening these fields...like political maneuvering to get to the ANWR and also to keep up the record profits that oil companies are making...