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July 06, 2006
Energy Dependence
Posted to Author: Pielke Jr., R. | Energy Policy
In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal John Fialka has an interesting article (free) that takes apart the notion of “energy independence.” Here is an excerpt:
The U.S. may be addicted to oil, but many of its politicians are addicted to "energy independence" -- which may be among the least realistic political slogans in American history.Recently, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, perhaps warming up for another presidential campaign, gave a speech calling for energy independence and invoking the Fourth of July. "For the second time in our history, let's declare and win our independence," he said. Separately, 43 Democratic senators, including Mr. Kerry, launched a program to "Put America on the road to energy independence by 2020."
President Bush, meanwhile, has been talking for three years about setting a goal "to promote energy independence for our country." That is in line with Republican tradition: After the Arab oil embargo in 1973, President Nixon trotted out "Project Independence," a list of synthetic-fuel programs that would meet America's energy needs within 10 years. It failed within two.
Now, energy experts across the political spectrum are criticizing politicians' calls for "energy independence," saying the goal falls somewhere between pipe dream and economic impossibility.
Posted on July 6, 2006 08:08 AM
Comments
Isn't completely domestic energy kind of a straw man, at least until we make significant advances in distributed renewable generation and fuel cells?
There could be such a thing as functional independence--that is, the possibility that we can reduce foreign energy imports enough so that we may not need the oil from any one particular country. The possibility that we can choose not to buy oil from, say, Iran, or Saudi Arabia, or another country, even though we might need oil from someone, will accomplish much of what I think we hope for when we talk about energy independence. I realize OPEC is an issue here of course.
Posted by: Eben Polk at July 6, 2006 09:57 AM