There’s no better way for President Obama and his administration to celebrate Earth Day than to embrace a real, environmentally sound commitment to energy independence instead of relying on foreign countries that lack environmental safeguards. One aspect of the “all-of-the-above” approach I have been discussing for years involves, of course, the necessity to “drill, baby, drill.”

It’s no secret that throughout America, including the very wealthy state of Alaska, we find a storehouse of natural resources that God so benevolently dumped underfoot, just waiting to be tapped. ANWR, for example, is screaming to be used to help bring prosperity and national security to America. Indeed, there is an inherent link between energy and prosperity and energy and security. On this day, as many are focused on preserving the planet, environmentalists need not fear that the land or wildlife would suffer from the wise decision to drill here. As Alaskans know, ANWR is not some luxurious vacation spot teeming with Bambi and friends frolicking through waterfalls and flower-strewn mountainsides, as environmentalist fundraising advertisements depict it. It is a vast, remote, desolate, frozen area available to be used with a tiny drilling footprint to bring the country closer to what is clearly needed: commonsense, money-saving, job-producing energy independence. Believe me, I live in the Last Frontier because I cherish the earth and thrive in the clean air and fresh water amid our plentiful wildlife. I don’t want to mess this up for future generations.