"We are not going to take the approach of begging the OPEC countries or anybody else with respect to oil production," Abraham said, "not when we have the opportunity to open wilderness preserves to rampant destruction by oil companies."

OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, recently made the decision to cut the production of a million barrels of oil a day to keep prices up.

This came as sweet music to the ears of President Bush, who has longed to drill for oil in national parks and forests. "It's high time to tear this country up," he said last week, "I've only got four years to devestate the enviroment and I'm dang well gonna roll up my sleeves and get to it."

Critics charge that Bush is using the California energy crisis to push for his policy of eco-terrorism. They point out that only 1 percent of the entire California energy grid comes from oil.

The Bush administration - filled with people tied to the oil industry, including the president, vice president, and national security advisor - is still determined to search for domestic oil, no matter what the cost.

"A lot of people say we could find alternative sources," Abraham said, "but frankly, why should we? Is there anything more beautiful than oil rigs towering above the tree line of a national park? I think not."