Sacrificing our coasts will not bring down — and keep down — energy prices.

Drilling our coasts will not solve the problem of high natural gas prices. It simply takes too long to develop a natural gas field to impact prices in the short term. The estimated long-term drop in natural gas prices from drilling new sites is so small that the average American would likely not notice it at all.

The honest answer to our oil problem is to use less of it, and that means better fuel economy faster and a shift toward renewable energy. Instead of the failed policies of the past, it’s time to break our addiction to fossil fuels by shifting our priorities-and our policies toward creating a clean energy economy.

Instead of offering real solutions on energy, global warming and transportation, we are being given false solutions and empty promises. Congress should continue to raise the fuel economy of our cars, encourage the use of renewable energy like wind and solar power and adopt other existing energy-saving technologies that cut pollution, curb global warming and create good jobs.

These solutions do not require us to put our beaches and our favorite vacation spots on the chopping block.

Doug La Follette is Wisconsin secretary of state.