I think there is a lack of understanding on the part of most Americans regarding how many acres of public land are already available for extractive uses. There is currently no shortage of places to drill for oil, nat gas, mine coal, gold or copper in the US. Trust me I know, I am a coal miner that operates on public land. Public land areas for extractive uses only seems to grow as technology makes new areas viable. What seems to get smaller are areas that we just flat out leave alone. My two cents.
I agree with your post.