Congressman Spencer Bachus used one of Chilton County’s neighbors to make a point yesterday.

In bordering Bibb County, where 58 percent of residents work outside of the county, the average weekly wage is $312, he said.

A friend of the area had showed Bachus an $89 bill for filling up his vehicle’s gas tank, which brought Bachus to the biggest subject of his meeting with Chilton County residents yesterday: energy and gas prices.

“You can’t make $312 gross and spend $89 to fill up your vehicle and survive for long,” he said.

Bachus warned people not to be lulled to sleep by a drop in oil prices, which he said would not surprise him. The key, he continued, is for the nation to decrease its dependency on foreign oil.

“We are sending $1.3 trillion a year to folks that don’t really like us,” he said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. consumes 20 million barrels of oil per day but only produces 5.1 million and imports 13.7 million, while demand is on the rise from nations like China and India.

“We’re having to compete now,” Bachus said.

The congressman’s outlook was hopeful, however. He says the U.S. can solve its energy crisis, but not just by producing more oil.

“It’s a three-legged stool,” he said. “We’re not going to make it with just producing more. We’ve got to conserve it and rely on new technology.”

In the short term, Bachus said, the U.S. must find new energy sources. Clean coal and nuclear energy are less expensive than petroleum, while solar and wind are more expensive but are coming down.

Reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases is a major goal Bachus wants to see reached through the use of cleaner energy sources.

“We don’t have to choose between energy and the environment,” he said.

Bachus supports offshore drilling as well as drilling in Alaska because he says that’s where the oil is. He said Alaska contains more than half of the country’s reserves that are not offshore, and that the drilling can be done in a manner that it is not harmful to the environment.

The solution, however, is one that will not be reached unless Congressmen reach across party lines, Bachus indicated.

“This is not about Republicans and Democrats,” he said. “We’ve got to reach across the aisle and work with each other.”