A strategic energy policy

If Bush wants a “we’ll put a man on the moon in the next ten years” moment in his State of the Union message tonight, I’ve got one. “We will reduce our dependence on foreign oil from 11 billion barrels a day to 2 billion barrels a day by 2016.” We need to get busy weaning ourselves off of oil. Since the oil embargo of the mid 70s, successive administrations, both Democrat and Republican, have failed to make serious efforts to get America away from its foreign oil dependence. While America has about 3% of know oil reserves, it continues as the world’s biggest energy hog using 25% of the entire world’s refined product.

Today as a result of America’s failure to enact a strategic energy policy we are paying nearly $70 a barrel for oil. When the inevitable confrontation with Iran (which sits on 10% of know reserves) comes, $70 will look like a bargain. But $70 a barrel isn’t the bad part. The bad part is that we are paying $70 a barrel to countries that are funding our enemies in our war on Islamo-terror-fascists. Essentially, we are funding both sides of the war. Saudi Arabia controls 25% of known oil reserves and gave birth to the radical Muslim Wahabbism that fills the ranks of the Islamo-terror-fascists that we are fighting today. Saudi Arabia continues to support radical Wahabbie mosques throughout the world with its petro-dollars. The enemy we will be fighting tomorrow is being educated in hate today every time we fill up at the pump.

Many will note that we don’t even buy much oil from the Middle East. That’s true, but the oil market is worldwide. As such, its cost is determined by worldwide demand. So it doesn’t matter if we buy from Russia, Saudi Arabia or use domestic crude, it’s the demand we create that drives the price higher and thereby enriches our enemies.

What the president should propose:

- Except for emergency power, an end to all oil fired electrical production, with clean coal and nuclear meeting all new demand and a 5 year sunset on current oil fired plants. This should be easy as we get only about 3% of our electrical power from oil fired plants.

- A robust domestic oil exploration and refining expansion. This is a stop gap national security measure NOT the long term goal. We should explore our own resources to reach a measure of energy independence while we purse the ultimate goal of new energy sources.

- Provide the big three auto makers with the R&D incentives required to skip a generation ahead in auto engine development. Alternative fuels already abound, ethanol, methanol, hybrid, electric, hydrogen etc. Provide American consumers and industry with the proper incentive and anything can be accomplished.

- Offer a huge incentive to American car companies that can sell 1,000,000 alternative fuel cars in the US in one year. This will require that car company’s efforts keep the consumer in mind. Just producing an under-powered shoebox won’t do, and is not the American way. We can make bigger and better and more fuel efficient cars when required or inspired to do so.

We have relied on the status quo because here to fore oil was $17-$25 a barrel. Now oil is $70 and the money we spend on it is being used to destroy us. It’s time America took a strategic energy policy seriously.