Even as he was signing his long-sought energy bill last week, President Bush acknowledged it was only a start.
“Most of the serious problems, such as high gasoline costs or the rising dependence on foreign oil, have developed over decades,” he said. “It’s going to take years of focused effort to alleviate those problems.”
That focus needs to become a whole lot sharper if America is to approach energy independence. The bill the president signed makes some welcome investments in clean energy, but the bulk of its tax incentives will go for continued development of fossil fuels. The vision of this bill is fixed on yesterday’s technologies; its vision for the future is a relative blur.
With the price of oil reaching another record Friday – nearly $67 a barrel – new incentives for oil companies to drill more seem ludicrous. As gasoline nears $3 a gallon, will a public outcry finally grow loud enough for our national leaders to hear? Will serious contenders for the presidency embrace a broad and bold national strategy to create a future of clean energy?
A serious plan exists to do just that. The New Apollo Energy Act, co-sponsored by a number of House Democrats, including Washington’s Jay Inslee, is a comprehensive plan aimed at developing alternatives to fossil fuels, resulting in greater national security, growth in domestic high-tech jobs and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
John Kerry was asked to make such a plan a centerpiece of his presidential campaign in 2004, but he declined. Seems it didn’t generate strong enough poll numbers. With oil prices and Middle East tensions rising daily, a 2008 candidate running on a platform of clean energy development – Democrat or Republican – will have a message that resonates with mainstream America.
New Apollo’s name commemorates President John F. Kennedy’s call in 1961 to send an American to the moon and back within a decade, a call that mustered America’s collective creativity, resolve and innovation. It didn’t take a crisis to mobilize the nation behind Kennedy’s vision, and we shouldn’t have to wait for one before gathering momentum for a real commitment to clean energy sources.
Our dependence on oil gives us record trade deficits, forces us to spend billions upon billions to protect our interests militarily and may force drilling in some of our most environmentally sensitive areas. The current jump in prices threatens to send a growing economy back into a tailspin.
The issue is huge, and it’s there for the taking. Please, 2008 presidential contenders, grab it.
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