Energy
With gas at the pump threatening to go back to three dollars a gallon, the best our Congress could do was to look for more oil. Raising the supply of oil has very low chance of actually dropping the price, as we are consuming oil faster than we can pump it. Additional refineries will provide a short-term solution to the problem. However, placing all our energy needs in the oil basket puts America at risk both abroad with unstable governments and here at home from natural disasters that affect our hydrocarbon refining and distribution facilities.
Whenever alternative energies are discussed, they are discussed as a far-off fantasy. Instead of saying America should be using 20% of alternative fuel sources by 2030, we should be demanding full energy independence in a decade. America is a country that dammed the Colorado for energy production in five years in the midst of The Great Depression. America is a country that sent man to the moon in less than a decade. America is the same country that can find cheap, clean, plentiful energy and do it in a rapid fashion. Our economy, environment, and most importantly, our citizens will see great benefit from this.
There are only two ways to alter the energy equation: reduce demand and increase supply. America has made some progress with the former: new refrigerators are far more efficient than those that are 25 years old; compact fluorescent bulbs use seven times less electricity than incandescent bulbs, and last about four times longer. Improvements in building materials such as Tyvek have helped homes require less energy to be heated and cooled to comfortable levels. However, there remains plenty of room for improvement. The total fleet of vehicles on US roads was 13.1 mpg in 1974, was 26.2 mpg in 1987, and has decreased since then. Americans live farther and farther from their workplaces, resulting in fewer mass transit options and more miles driven per employee. There is room for increased efficiency in appliances, heating & cooling, building construction, and transportation -- and every gallon of oil not burned is better than another gallon of oil drilled, since we also reduce cost, environmental damage, and political risk.
America can dramatically increase its energy supply without drilling for more oil or natural gas. By increasing our investment in research and in the construction of green energy facilities, America can begin to wean itself off of it's addiction to Middle Eastern oil. Solar power, wind power, geothermal power, biomass power, ethanol, and bio-diesel are all areas of tremendous potential growth within the United States. By building renewable energy power plants, America will generate jobs that can't be outsourced, preserve our air, soil, and water for future generations, free ourselves from many of the political demands of the Middle East, and actually reduce the size of the check we have to send to the electricity company every month.
Energy R&D Allocation
How American energy R&D should be allocated:
- 20% Nuclear Fusion
- 15% Solar
- 15% Wind
- 10% Conservation
- 10% Fuel Cell Technology
- 10% Biodiesel (weighted towards algae)
- 5% Hydroelectric
- 5% Biomass
- 4% Ethanol
- 2.5% Geothermal
- 2.5% Nuclear Fission
- 1% Hydrocarbon
