As U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann continued her push to expand oil and gas drilling in the United States, challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg launched a tour Wednesday in the 6th Congressional District to highlight a wider range of energy options.
Tinklenberg visited a Woodbury park-and-ride lot, an Anoka algae biodiesel project, an Elk River refuse-derived fuel plant, a future Elk River rail station and an Avon wind turbine contractor.
His message: Domestic drilling is only a partial answer to an emerging energy crisis. The rest, he said, lies in a combination of approaches, including incentives to develop more wind, solar, biofuel and clean-coal technologies, higher vehicle mileage requirements to conserve gasoline and better transit options.
Such innovation, he added, should be encouraged "to reduce our dependence on a single energy resource."
With gas prices rising dramatically to $4 a gallon and higher, energy has emerged as a key issue this year in the 6th District, which runs from the St. Croix River across the northern Twin Cities suburbs to west of St. Cloud.
The public, he said, already has begun to force gas prices down by reducing its driving and gas consumption. Federal data released earlier this week, for example, showed that Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than they did in May 2007.
In recent weeks, oil has dropped about $20 a barrel and gas has fallen below $4 a gallon.
Noting changing driving patterns, Tinklenberg said, "That is what is having an impact on the price of oil."
A clear example of the desire to try alternative ways of getting around and cutting expenses, he said, is the Woodbury park-and-ride, where about 500 vehicles are parked while their drivers and passengers use buses to head into the metro area for work. By late Wednesday morning, there were no parking spots available.
"It's full,'' Tinklenberg said. "The people have spoken. They've made their decision."
