To the Point

Will High Oil Prices Drive a New Energy Policy?

The Bush Administration says high prices will continue for at least the next three years. While Republicans and Democrats are outraged over the soaring price of gasoline, neither party is proposing any long-term solutions. Experts agree that dependence on foreign oil won't be ended by taxing excess profits, investigating price fixing or handing out $100 rebates. Increased domestic production, conservation and renewable energy sources will all require political will. What can Washington learn from Europe, South America--and even California? Are the White House and Capitol Hill ready for a world without oil? We explore the politics and the reality of America's latest energy crisis with journalists in Washington and the UK, economists, petroleum and energy experts, including an advisor to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Making News: US Says Europe Will Approve UN Sanctions against IranUndersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said in Paris today that Europe will agree to economic sanctions if Iran continues its nuclear program. Iran says Europe is bowing to American pressure. Mary Dejevsky, chief editorial writer for the Independent in London, says the draft resolution is not yet the fait accompli the US would have the world believe.Reporter's Notebook: Black Community Reacts to Immigration ProtestsCivil-rights leader Jesse Jackson, who supported yesterday's demonstrations for immigrants' rights as a ---movement for social justice,--- is calling on African Americans to make common cause with newly arrived Latinos, legal and otherwise. But the community is not a monolith and polls show that many blacks do not share Jackson's support of the movement. Former Chicago City Councilman Cliff Kelley is host of The Cliff Kelley Show on WVON.