While headlines scream about the rising prices of oil and gasoline, the dramatic increases in the price of natural gas go virtually unnoticed. Natural gas is a crucial part of our lives, whether it is the source of energy for the local factory, an essential raw material for everyday household goods or the fuel that heats many of our homes.

In fact, a large part of the American economic engine depends upon a reliable, abundant, reasonably priced supply of natural gas. Although this vital commodity is relatively abundant in the United States, our supply is neither reliable nor reasonably priced.

This dilemma is particularly difficult to swallow when we consider that much of the growing crisis results from a self-inflicted wound. That's right. America, the world's largest economic power, pays the highest natural gas prices in the world and faces potential supply disruptions; however, we cannot blame foreign governments or the never-ending crises in the Middle East as the culprits. Rather, since natural gas is a regional, not global, commodity, generally used where it is produced, we must look closer to home for the root of the problem.

Not surprisingly, our government deserves much of the blame. The Clean Air Act of 1990 encourages the use of cleaner-burning natural gas, and environmentally conscious industries and private consumers have made the switch to natural gas in droves, thus increasing demand. We could meet that demand with known American deposits of natural gas, but remarkably, current federal policy places a moratorium on natural gas exploration. Through short-sighted, uninformed decisions, our government has created an energy crisis that should never have existed.

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What exactly, though, does the natural gas problem mean to you personally and to the state of South Carolina in general? Begin with the increasing cost of heating your home.

Consider also that many of the manufacturing facilities that form the foundation of our state's economy are heavy users of natural gas. Increases in this essential production cost will effectively reduce their already thin operating margins, if not eliminate them entirely.

Don't expect manufacturers to cope by passing on these increases to you, the consumer. Global competition is now such that foreign competitors are already threatening our manufacturing base with cheap labor, unfair trade practices and little or no government regulation. Throw in ridiculously high energy costs, and plants will close.

Energy production isn't the only use for natural gas, though, as it is an important raw material in the plastics, chemical and farming industries. Take, for example, plastics, South Carolina's leading manufacturing sector.

Of late, the plastics business has been relatively good, particularly in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson area, which ranks among the nation's top 20 producers of plastics that you see and use every day. Rising energy costs, however, have created a serious competitive disadvantage, and more importantly, in plastics production there is no alternative to natural gas as a raw material. The result: The plastics sector lost more than $14 billion in business to foreign countries as a direct result of the tripling of natural gas prices. That will mean fewer jobs for the Upstate.

It is imperative that we increase the domestic supply of natural gas. The Outer Continental Shelf contains enough natural gas to heat 100 million homes for 60 years. This abundance of deep-sea natural gas can be retrieved safely, and with potential offshore platforms located far out at sea, we wouldn't even see unattractive drilling platforms in front of us as we visited South Carolina's wonderful beaches.

New technology means an increase in natural gas supply with very little risk. As proof, more than 3,000 platforms stood in the path of 2005's two catastrophic hurricanes, but the U.S. Minerals Management Service reports that there were no significant spills from any of these platforms. We can maintain the aesthetics of our beaches and coastal towns, protect our fisheries and other natural resources, and still provide the energy you and your employers need.

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint has been an outspoken leader for energy independence. DeMint and many from both political parties support current energy bills that would allow for exploration at many promising offshore areas. Recently, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham signaled his intent to vote to lift the moratorium on natural gas exploration. We must encourage all of South Carolina's members of Congress to favor legislation that will allow access to natural gas on the Outer Continental Shelf.

It is foolish to continue punishing the American consumer. It is foolish to needlessly force our businesses to close and our people to accept a lower standard of living. Fortunately, we have a clear and obvious opportunity to end a self-inflicted energy crisis. The time is now. We cannot afford to wait.