Energy Independence

We must become independent from foreign sources of oil. This will mean a combination of efforts related to conservation and efficiency measures, developing alternative sources of energy like biodiesel, ethanol, nuclear, and coal gasification, and finding more domestic sources of oil such as in ANWR or the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

Many energy pundits don't believe America can free itself from dependence on foreign oil.

"We do not have the resource base to be energy independent," Exxon Mobil Corp. chairman Lee Raymond bluntly said in a speech. "We simply cannot avoid significant reliance on oil and gas from the Middle East."

"You need to understand that when they discuss energy independence it's a rhetorical gimmick," says Paul Roberts, the author of the book The End of Oil. "It sounds good, but the truth is there is no such thing as energy independence for a country that uses as much oil as we do in the United States," Roberts adds. "They've been saying it since Nixon's time. You have to say it. It's like mom and apple pie."

We think of globalization as primarily an economic issue and the war on terror as primarily a military issue. Yet the same key unlocks the door to success in both, and that key is energy independence. None of us would write a check to Osama bin Laden, slip it in a Hallmark card and send it off to him. But that's what we're doing every time we pull into a gas station. We're paying for both sides in the war on terror - our side with our tax dollars, the terrorists' side with our gas dollars. Our dependence on foreign oil has forced us to support repressive regimes, to conduct our foreign policy with one hand tied behind our back. It's time, it's past time, to untie that hand and reach out to moderate Muslims with both hands. Oil has not just shaped our foreign policy, it has deformed it. When I make foreign policy, I want to treat Saudi Arabia the same way I treat Sweden, and that requires us to be energy independent. These folks have had us over a barrel - literally - for way too long.

Achieving energy independence is vital to achieving success both in the war on terror and in globalization. Energy independence will help guarantee both our safety and our prosperity.

We have to explore, we have to conserve, and we have to pursue all avenues of alternative energy: nuclear, wind, solar, hydrogen, clean coal, biodiesel, and biomass. Some will come from our farms and some will come from our laboratories.

Energy independence has been on our "to do" list for over thirty years, my whole adult life. In 1973, in response to OPEC's oil embargo against us, President Nixon established Project Independence, which promised independence in 1980. We could have been energy independent a generation ago! The truth is, we are so terribly behind the curve right now that federal spending for energy research and development is only 40% of what it was in 1979. Our efforts are haphazard and often pointless: today we have six million flex-fuel vehicles built to run on biodiesel or on E85, which is 85% ethanol, but only 1,413 pumps for those fuels in a country with 170,000 gas stations.

When energy shocks and crises come, we take aspirin to deal with the pain, but we don't address the underlying symptoms. This oil addiction is killing us. We have to stop popping pain pills and get ourselves cured. For all these years, we've never lacked the means, just the will.

Dwindling supplies and increasing demand from newly-industrialized countries of fossil fuels are driving up prices. These price increases will facilitate innovation and the opportunity for independence. We will remove red tape that slows innovation. We will set aside a federal research and development budget that will be matched by the private sector to seek the best new products in alternative fuels. Our free market will sort out what makes the most sense economically and will reward consumer preferences.

Energy independence will ease the effects of globalization because the future energy demands of countries like India and China, as their middle class grows, are going to be tremendous. Even if Middle East supplies remain stable - a huge if - that increased demand will drive prices up dramatically, which will hurt our economy by making everything more expensive here. But if we are energy independent, we will be able not just to take care of our own needs and protect our economy, we will also create jobs and grow our economy by developing technologies that we can sell to the rest of the world to meet their needs.

R PLAN for ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

Diversifying Our Energy Portfolio:

Ethanol and Bio-fuels: America will use bio-fuels to help displace foreign oil use by our vehicles. Corn and cellulosic ethanol, as well as bio-diesel will play a role. The bio-fuels industry can help revitalize rural America.

Renewable Energy: Renewable sources of electricity, including solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal power, will play an important role in our move to energy independence.

Nuclear Power: America must expand its use of clean, affordable, and safe nuclear power. If France can get nearly 80% of its electricity from nuclear, America can significantly increase our percentage of power from nuclear energy.

Clean Coal: America possesses 27% of the world’s coal. We must commercialize clean coal technologies, including carbon sequestration, so we can utilize this vast domestic resource.

Natural Gas: We should use clean-burning natural gas, especially to replace oil in large truck and bus fleets.

North American Oil and Gas: America must expand environmentally-responsible access to the proven oil and natural gas reserves throughout North America, including in Canada and Mexico.

Future Technologies: America must encourage entrepreneurs in future technologies such as advanced hybrid cars and hydrogen fuel cells.

Securing, Renewing, And Expanding Our Energy Infrastructure: We must ensure the security and reliability of America’s energy infrastructure. We need new oil refineries, nuclear reactors, transmission lines, and renewable energy facilities. Expanding our infrastructure and diversifying its geographic location directly impacts national security, economic stability, and job creation. Key steps include enhancing security, cutting red tape in the regulatory process, investing in a digital “Smart Grid,” and developing batteries to more effectively store energy.

Efficiency And Conservation: America’s government, corporations, and individuals must engage in efficiency and conservation efforts that reduce demand for oil, without damaging America’s competitiveness worldwide or our standard of living. We need to use more energy-efficient technologies and take personal responsibility for conserving energy. Every gallon of gas and any electricity we do not use is energy we do not import and pollution we reduce.

EnergyStat: Track key energy indicators to measure our progress toward energy independence. While the government already tracks energy statistics, EnergyStat will continuously monitor and measure a selected set of indicators that are specifically tied to the effective management of initiatives on energy independence and climate change. This data will also be online so the public can track our progress and hold government accountable.

Solve energy independence and you contribute to world peace and global warming.