The Equivalent of War

Resolving the perceived energy crisis will be one of the primary areas of focus for the next President. How that resolution is approached will have profound impact on many generations to come. Do we focus on reducing energy consumption? Do we penalize certain forms of energy? Do we allow environmental concerns to dictate policy at the expense of economic and security issues? How do we pay for government energy initiatives? How do we alleviate the burden of high energy costs on the American taxpayer?

Currently, a staggeringly large amount of U.S. productivity is spent obtaining oil from other countries. We have financed some of the most anti-U.S. governments on the planet through our energy dollars. Through some of those governments we have financed the very terrorists that have attacked us. The very terrorists who draw us into military operations that further drain our treasury. Even when we choose not to purchase petroleum directly from terrorist sponsors, our purchase of foreign oil frees those countries to sell to others who have less compunction against sponsoring terrorism.

We must become energy independent. How? We sent our first rocket to the moon as the result of a focused effort to do so. Let's focus on becoming energy independent. We can do so by implementing a comprehensive plan of 1) utilizing existing reserves of petroleum and coal products, 2) developing new forms of energy, 3) encouraging the expansion of renewable energy technologies such as solar and wind, 4) building safe and efficient nuclear power plants. 5) Implementing and encouraging conservation strategies.

All of these things can be done with proper attention to environmental concerns. Such attention is NOT preservation at all costs. It IS conservation and protection of critical species and habitat. There is a difference. We MUST be good stewards of the resources at our disposal. It is prudent for our security and our future.

Our next President and Congress have a big job ahead of them. It will require wisdom -- not just the empty promise of change for the sake of change. It will require a comprehensive marshaling of our resources as a nation and the equivalent of war on a task which is critical to our future. It requires vision and experience. It must be conducted in a manner that alleviates the stifling burden to productivity that is borne by the taxpayers of this country. It cannot be at the expense of enslaving them to the extreme beliefs of the privileged few.