Free Exchange has it right, I think, and Tyler Cowen is being needlessly self-abnegating. Drilling for US oil might well make sense as a matter of fiscal policy, especially for Alaska; it gets us nowhere fast as a an "energy independence strategy".
What Tyler’s saying, basically, is that the fiscal gains from drilling are so large that they outweigh the environmental costs. On the other hand, you could combine fiscal gains with environmental benefits if you just implemented a carbon tax — and that really would help move the country towards energy independence.