Energy

Robert P. Watson

Energy policy has been gridlocked in Washington for years. Each of the energy plans of the Bush Administration contained virtually no input from Democrats or environmental groups, yet executives from big oil were given a seat at the table by Vice President Dick Cheney to draft energy policy.

President Bush’s last proposal was both more of the same and so bad that having no proposal at all was preferable. His plan was to boost oil and gas drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), off our coasts, and in the Gulf of Mexico. It provided billions of additional tax giveaways for the oil industry, even though they were making record profits while consumers were squeezed at the pumps.

Americans are fed up with high gas prices and our dependence on Middle East oil. Since late 2004, the price of gas rose steadily until late 2008, and the increase in Florida was well above national averages, especially in south Florida. Skyrocketing gas prices hurt many small businesses, the transportation industry (airlines, shipping, etc.), municipalities, Florida’s vital tourism industry, and the economy, and polls reveal that the majority of Americans say that high gas prices are creating financial hardships for them.

Yet, in President Bush’s 2005 State of the Union Address he said he wished he could do something about gas prices, but he could not. My question is: Could not or would not? Bush's energy plans did nothing to address the immediate problems of high gas prices and our dependence on Mideast oil, which has become a national security dilemma. So much so that former CIA director James Woolsey and National Security Advisor Robert ‘Bud’ McFarlane, along with 30 other noted defense and security officials, formed an organization to urge President Bush to launch new initiative for alternative energy and conservation. Their concern was national security – in the form of potential attacks on oil plants, continued manipulation by oil rich nations, and the growing energy needs of China and India. It fell on deaf ears.

For instance, a bill in the House of Representatives in 2006 cost $8 billion – with the assumption that oil leases in the Alaskan wilderness would generate $2.6 billion – and called for drilling in ANWR, $2 billion in offshore drilling, and over $8 billion in tax giveaways for big oil and electric utilities over the next 10 years. With "leadership" like that, it is no wonder experts predict that high gas prices are here to stay and the price of oil soared to over $100 per barrel in 2008.

The Bush team was from the oil industry, and they repeatedly showed a lack of leadership on our energy problems. In fact, Bush’s war in Iraq was sold to the American public in part on the promise that the Iraqi oil bonanza would lower our gas prices and allow the war to pay for itself. This couldn’t be further from reality. President Obama has declared a different approach to energy and the need for green jobs, renewable energy sources, and an updated national energy grid. After years of neglect, during Obama's first few days in office he signaled a willingness to increase fuel efficiency standards. These are laudable goals and we must hold him to it.

My 3E (energy efficient economy) plan has 3 principles that will allow us to move beyond the old economy-ecology falsehood – that we can enjoy only economic health or ecological health, but not both. We must have both a healthy economy and healthy planet.

1. Support for expanded use of renewable, clean energy. Today, roughly 3/4 of all oil consumed in the U.S. goes to transportation (cars, trucks, planes, trains), over half our oil comes from the Middle East, and over half our electrical power comes from burning coal (51% from coal, 20% from nuclear, and 17% from natural gas). "Alternative" energy sources – hydro, wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, electric, etc. – must become a central part of our energy policy.
2. Making current energy production technology more economically efficient and ecologically friendly.
3. Promoting conservation rather than tapping our strategic petroleum reserve or drilling for more oil off our coasts and in ecologically sensitive lands.

Here are helpful websites for finding lower gas prices in Florida and on I-95:
www.floridastategasprices.com
www.usastar.com/i95/gas/gas-fl.html

Here are some conservation tips for your car developed by The Alliance to Save Energy:

• keep your car properly tuned (improves gas mileage by about 4%)
• replace an old or faulty oxygen sensor and related parts (improves mileage up to 40%)
• keep tires properly inflated (improves gas mileage by about 3%)
• use manufacturers’ recommended grade of motor oil (improves gas mileage by about 1-2%)
• check and replace dirty air filters regularly (improves gas mileage by about 10%)
• take advantage of a $2000 federal tax deduction in 2005 if you a buy hybrid-electric car (unfortunately, Republicans in Congress cut the deduction to $500 in 2006)
• combine errands into one trip
• if your family has more than one car, use the most efficient one for errands
• pack lightly and avoid packing items on the roof of your vehicle
• carpool and public transportation