During World War II, our government learned that Nazi Germany was working to develop an atomic bomb. President Roosevelt established the secret Manhattan Project to counter that threat. A remarkable collection of scientists, academics, engineers, technicians, administrators and the Army Corps of Engineers worked together to create the world's first nuclear weapon, ultimately used on Japan, bringing that war to a swift conclusion.

Today, our country is faced with another crisis. Nearly every segment of society is negatively impacted by the price of oil. School districts struggle to find money to fuel school buses, airlines are going bankrupt, Wall Street is in a near-panic mode, food costs are spiraling upwards, the list goes on and on.

So-called experts are telling us that two factors are to blame: the economic law of supply and demand and foreign dominance of the oil supply. Neither is totally correct.

As far as the law of supply and demand, leaders of U.S. major air carriers recently stated that upwards of $60 per barrel of oil is driven by speculation with no delivery required, and with huge profits accruing to the speculators. That stock exchange loophole needs to be addressed immediately by Congress or executive order. The law of supply and demand is supposed to be driven in part by scarcity. It's difficult for consumers to buy into scarcity of our oil supply when all the gas stations are always open for business as usual.

In answer to the factor of foreign dominance over our oil supply, our president has gone on record asking that the Arctic Circle and the coast of Florida be made open for drilling. I have yet to hear the president comment about the mass of oil sitting under North Dakota in the Bakken formation, supposedly exceeding the richest oil field in Saudi Arabia. I understand there are technical problems with extracting much of the Bakken oil. Could not scientists, academics, engineers, technicians and administrators be brought together to resolve those problems? Critical times call for critical measures. Critical times also call for bold leadership. Where is our Manhattan Project?