Last week, the House passed legislation to open waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to oil and gas drilling --- but only 50 or more miles offshore and only if a state agreed.

However, it became clear that measure would not get the 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass a filibuster challenge.

Democrats had been trying to attach the measure to a stopgap spending bill to which is designed to keep the government running after Congress recesses for the election, and decided that any such provision would prevent said bill from passing.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-WI, told reporters:

"So that will mean ... this next election will decide what our drilling policy will be because there will be no language in this bill on that subject, and as you know that means that at least temporarily the moratorium is lifted."

High gasoline prices have made the mantra "Drill Here. Drill now. pay less" popular amongst the GOP. While using it as a plank in their platform for the presidency, they fail to note that:

Any such drilling would take at least a decade before any oil was extracted, according to analysts. The same analysts indicate the amount of new oil produced would probably be too small to significantly affect world oil prices. About 17.8 billion barrels, or just over two years' worth of U.S. consumption is available offshore, just a drop in the world's bucket.

What people fail to use here is common sense. Last time I looked there were no new Carboniferous period ferns being crushed under billions of tons of pressure to create new oil and coal. In other words: fossil fuels are a finite resource. We will eventually run out.

And what people also fail to realize is that while "run out" is probably not going to happen for some long time ... if ever ... run out of "easily accessible" (meaning profitable) fossil fuels is going to happen far sooner.

So, even with expanded offshore drilling: sorry, but higher gas prices are a given.

"We do not expect that this is the end,": said Josh Dorner, a spokesman for the advocacy group Sierra Club. "It is certainly not the final word on energy for this Congress or for the year ahead."