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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (5126)	11/20/2006 1:09:01 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24232

Four Steps To Energy Independence By Dina Franceschi, Kevin Mohatta Published on 11/19/2006 in Editorial » Perspective Public concern about energy and our nation's dependence on oil is higher than it has been at any time since the 1970s. Americans from across the political spectrum are realizing the long-term economic and foreign policy implications of our over-reliance on oil and the perils of our current energy path, global warming, is adding to the public's sense of urgency about reducing our fossil-fuel consumption. Despite strong public support for clean, renewable energy and conservation measures, our nation's leaders have done almost nothing to put us an on a cleaner, more secure energy path. Over the past five years, Congress and the Bush Administration have consistently rejected rational policies to reduce our reliance on oil, and to encourage energy conservation and homegrown renewable energy, while protecting the interests of Big Oil. Americans have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to dramatically shift the direction of our nation's energy policy by demanding that candidates support policies to reduce our reliance on oil, increase renewable energy, promote conservation and dramatically increase investments in the energy-saving and renewable energy technologies. To make sure that America employs its tools and technological expertise to move us toward a cleaner and more secure energy future, we are proposing a four-point platform to reduce oil consumption, employ more renewables, save energy, and invest in the next wave of energy-saving and renewable energy technologies. We can reduce U.S. dependence on oil by reducing our consumption by, at least, 7 million barrels per day by 2025. By building cars that go farther on a gallon of gas, giving Americans better transportation choices, and using clean, renewable fuels, we can slash our use of oil, improve our environment, safeguard our energy security and, in many cases, save money. We can harness clean, homegrown energy sources by getting 25 percent of our nation's energy from renewable energy sources by 2025. America has virtually limitless potential to take advantage of renewable energy to power our economy. The Great Plains has been called the “Saudi Arabia of wind” for its vast, high quality wind resource. Similarly, solar panels placed on just 7 percent of the area currently covered by cities and residences could generate all of America's electricity. Replacing nearly 25 percent of our energy with renewable sources by 2025 would save more than half of the natural gas per year in 2025 than is currently used in American homes, and 40 percent of all the coal America used in 2005. We can save energy with high-performance homes, appliances and businesses so that we use 10 percent less energy in 2025 than we use today. America has vast “strategic reserves” of energy efficiency. Virtually every part of the American economy has the potential to use energy more efficiently from the appliances we use in our kitchens, to the windows we use in our office buildings, and the motors we use in our factories. We can easily get close to this goal through cost-effective technologies that already exist. We can get the rest of the way to this goal by investing in tomorrow's technologies such as “zero-energy” homes that virtually eliminate the need for fossil fuels, and green commercial buildings that slice demand for energy by 25 to 40 percent. We can invest in a new energy future by tripling investments in research and development funding for the energy-saving and renewable technologies. Spending $3 billion per year on federal clean energy and research and development over the next decade would help us develop the next wave of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Projects could include developing the next wave of improvements in vehicle technology, investigating ways to store the energy created by wind and solar power, and finding the best ways to effectively use bio-fuels. Achieving the goal of a New Energy Future will not be an easy task, so we need leaders who are up to the challenge. Leaders in Congress must commit themselves to putting American innovation to work in order to break America's dependence on oil and put our nation on a course toward a more economically and environmentally secure future. Dina Franceschi is an associate professor of economics at Fairfield University. Kevin Mohatt is with the New Energy Future campaign of the Connecticut Public Interest Research Group. theday.com