Energy in the 110th Congress
| By Richard - Nov 28th, 2006 at 8:07 pm EST |
America's energy policy has been driven with blinders on during Bush's reign. Assisted by Republican congress people who vote as their campaign contributions tell them to, our energy policy has remained stuck in a "pre-9/11 mindset".
One of the ignored lessons of that day was that our long-term well-being is highly dependent right now on the consistent supply of relatively cheap energy sources such as oil, natural gas and coal. Our economy can be held hostage by autocratic regimes half a world away. This presents the largest national security risk to the U.S. today.
Fortunately, there are things we can do; three things to be more specific. The first is to cut our dependence on oil overall. We should commit to a goal of reducing our oil use by one-third of today's consumption by 2025. The second is to boost our use of clean, domestic renewable energy. We should commit to a goal of producing at least 25% of our energy from renewable sources by 2025. The third is to use our energy more efficiently. We should commit to reducing energy use in our buildings by 10% below current levels by 2025.
Together, these three simple policies, all of which are currently within our technological grasp, would significantly improve our geopolitical relations outlook. We would no longer be held hostage by oppressive cartels or megalomaniacs. Think of the national wealth we could reinvest into improving the lives of every American.
One of the ignored lessons of that day was that our long-term well-being is highly dependent right now on the consistent supply of relatively cheap energy sources such as oil, natural gas and coal. Our economy can be held hostage by autocratic regimes half a world away. This presents the largest national security risk to the U.S. today.
Fortunately, there are things we can do; three things to be more specific. The first is to cut our dependence on oil overall. We should commit to a goal of reducing our oil use by one-third of today's consumption by 2025. The second is to boost our use of clean, domestic renewable energy. We should commit to a goal of producing at least 25% of our energy from renewable sources by 2025. The third is to use our energy more efficiently. We should commit to reducing energy use in our buildings by 10% below current levels by 2025.
Together, these three simple policies, all of which are currently within our technological grasp, would significantly improve our geopolitical relations outlook. We would no longer be held hostage by oppressive cartels or megalomaniacs. Think of the national wealth we could reinvest into improving the lives of every American.
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The level of cronyism and corruption perpetrated by Republicans in the past six years should astound and infuriate all of us. They are fleecing Americans with brazen tactics and reaping benefits while many of us are accepting it as just another example of government in action.
I'm more of an optimist in this area and I think we'll see more conservation and small alterations in habits than we have seen in the past. There is a huge uphill battle to be fought: plenty of large speed bumps and pitfalls line the path to energy independence.