Something else that would stimulate rural economies

I note that T. Boone Pickens, in his advocacy of renewable energy sources that will wean us from our dependence on oil, is also touting how this would benefit rural economies. I suppose he is thinking about the locations of wind farms and such.

I saw another rural perspective on how we should respond to our energy crisis the other day on Fox News (it was blaring in the Toyota dealer's waiting room where I was captive while my 2001 Prius (!!!) was being serviced). Many folks (at the least the ones Fox interviewed) living in remote parts of Alaska--near ANWAR-- advocate drilling there. Learning the circumstances of their lives was sobering (milk at $6 gallon, for example), and I can imagine their economic desperation, but I'm with Pickens on this one. We need a medium-to-long-term solution to our energy crisis, and wouldn't it be great if that solution served rural America in ways other than lower prices at the pump.