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America needs a strong, useful energy plan

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  • Originally published May 31, 2008 at 8:24 p.m., updated May 31, 2008 at 8:24 p.m.

Editor, the Advocate:

Wake up, America!

This country does not have a long-term comprehensive energy plan and every time a plan is submitted to Congress, it is rejected. Congress cannot agree on anything and all their decisions are based on partisan politics to the detriment of our country.

Fortunately, there is a solution, if Congress would stop playing politics. For example, did you know there are enough domestic oil, natural gas and coal deposits to supply our country for the next 100 years?

Recently, a bill was introduced in Congress to allow explorations/drillings for oil and natural gas in Alaska (ANWR), the Western states and off the East and West coasts. The Democratic Congress rejected it because of environmental concerns and that technology to extract shale oil in the Western states was not proven. That is not true, as Canada and Brazil both extract shale oil with great success. Also, if environmental concerns are a problem, why couldn’t a team of environmentalists be established to police all drilling activities to assure Congress that the environment is being protected?

Even if we did produce more oil, we don’t have the refinery capacity to handle the increase. Congress has not allowed any new refineries to be built since 1976. Neither has Congress pursued any viable policy to encourage the construction of nuclear plants. France, for example gets about 2/3 of their electrical production from nuclear plants and they recycle their nuclear waste.

In addition, building plants to produce ethanol from corn and constructing wind turbines is not going to solve our energy problems. All of this activity will produce less than 10 percent of our needs. Also, the use of corn in ethanol production has proven to be counter-productive in terms of higher corn prices and shortages.

We must face the fact that China, India and other developing countries’ demand for oil will continue to increase dramatically. There is going to be a worldwide shortage of oil, and prices are going to go much higher. If Congress doesn’t immediately allow the development of our domestic sources of oil and gas, we will be caught in the middle.

One last item: wouldn’t it have been more prudent to use the $150 billion dollar rebate to set up an energy research center similar to NASA? Technology got us to the moon and it can do the same for energy independence.

Allen J. Novosad

Edna


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