t is clear now that most Californians, and an even larger majority of Americans, want to open up offshore areas to exploration and development of oil and natural gas.

They evidently understand better than Congress the law of supply and demand.

They understand, too, that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her obstructionist cohort stand in the way of lower gasoline prices.

According to federal estimates, U.S. offshore hydrocarbon fields offer enough oil to supply all of the nation’s needs for more than 11 years. America’s outer continental shelf holds as much as 85.9 billion barrels of crude, 10.13 billion barrels of which lies off California. Our state’s offshore areas contain about 23 percent of America’s estimated offshore reserves. For perspective, the U.S. uses about 7.56 billion barrels of oil per year. These areas also hold 49.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas—enough to sustain the U.S. for nearly 15 years.

Fifty-one percent of Californians now favor drilling off our coast, with 45 percent opposed, according to a poll released by the Public Policy Institute of California at the end of last month. A year ago, only 41 percent supported drilling. Just a slim majority (54 percent) of those polled in Pelosi’s liberal Bay Area continue to oppose drilling. And that percentage is probably dropping.

A new CNN/Opinion Research poll shows that 69 percent of Americans support, and only 30 percent oppose, added offshore drilling. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed believe that drilling will bring down gasoline prices.

Even Sen. Barack Obama, who had steadfastly opposed offshore drilling, is starting to come around. Only a couple of weeks ago, he was telling voters that the only hope to reduce our reliance on foreign oil was to “inflate your tires and get tune-ups.” But after examining the polls, he has conceded to accept more drilling as one element of a comprehensive energy solution.

Still, Pelosi blocked a congressional vote on offshore drilling, encouraging congressmen to take their summer vacations rather than deal with America’s energy crisis. “I’m trying to save the planet,” she said, explaining her intransigence. She describes fighting global warming as her “flagship issue.”

She argues that offshore drilling is no answer because it will take six to 10 years to bring offshore crude to market. She is wrong. Oil prices are volatile. Psychological forces can immediately move oil prices higher or lower. Threats of disruption from the Middle East or Venezuela can cause sharp price spikes. At this writing, prices are down $30 a barrel from their July high, largely because U.S. demand has dropped. Prices will continue downward once those who buy oil on the world commodities market see that the U.S. is serious about increasing supply.

Pelosi, Gov. Pete Wilson and their ilk fed Californians the same pabulum 10 years ago and 20 years ago: Offshore drilling is environmentally hazardous and will not reduce oil prices. But if we had drilled 10, or even 20, years ago, we might not be facing the oil crunch and high prices we are today. If these obstructionists were wrong in the past, how can they be right today?

As for the threats to our beaches and marine ecosystems supposedly posed by offshore drilling, that is a phantom issue. Because of dramatically improved drilling safety technology, there has not been a serious U.S. offshore oil blowout since 1969. Even Hurricane Katrina did not cause any leakage from oil drilling platforms in its path. Virtually all offshore oil spillage occurs from naturally-occurring ocean floor seeps and the large tankers that transport oil to the U.S. from other countries.

America is the only country in the world that refuses to develop its own energy resources. Meanwhile, the Chinese and the Cubans are working to develop oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

Pelosi is circling the drain aboard her global-warming “flagship.” The rest of us don’t have to ride with her. We have to drill here, now.