Guardian: The chant “Drill Baby Drill!”, commonly heard at Republican rallies last autumn, became one of the most memorable slogans of the 2008 US presidential election. Oil prices had skyrocketed, with prices running to almost $150 a barrel. While John McCain suggested ratcheting up domestic oil production as the solution, Barack Obama promised a technological revolution that would allow the development of green alternatives to petrol within 10 years. Energy independence became the watchword of the …