Guest columnists Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter: Bill provides energy, protects environment

Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter

Monday, April 28, 2003 | 8:48 a.m.

By Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter

Republicans Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter are two of Nevada's three members in the U.S. House of Representatives.

During the 1970s Arab oil embargo, the United States imported only 35 percent of its oil. Compare that figure to today -- we have skyrocketed to a staggering 60 percent dependence on foreign energy sources and our energy consumption is also at an all-time high.

Consequently, the American consumer has no choice but to pay the high and unstable prices dictated by foreign oil producers. We can do better.

The energy bill, the subject of the Sun's April 17 editorial, "Energy bill a big step backwards," will, in fact, enable us to do better. It takes the first steps toward lowering the prices Americans pay to fuel their cars and heat their homes while still protecting our environment.

It is true that the energy bill we voted for seeks to increase domestic production of conventional energy sources, such as oil and coal. After all, airplanes bringing tourists to Nevada do not run on solar or wind power.

To abandon or even significantly reduce our conventional energy production would be foolhardy until alternative energy sources are more abundant. However, your editorial's criticism of the bill's commitment to renewable and alternative energy is unwarranted.

The bill is unprecedented in its significant financial incentives for the production of renewable and alternative fuels such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and others. Never before have we made such a financial commitment to renewable and alternative energy.

In addition, we extended tax credits for the purchases of low-emission vehicles, mandated the use of cleaner burning fuels, paved the way for deployment of hydrogen cars, and provided financial incentives for homeowners to install energy conservation devices.

We made such a commitment that according to Steve Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, the energy efficiency and conservation provisions in the Energy Security Act will "eliminate the need for 130 new power plants by 2020."

The Sun's editorial also asserted that the Energy Security Act will not "reduce our importation of 60 percent or more of the oil we consume." However, the bill's broad mix of initiatives to stimulate conservation, exploration, and innovation in domestic energy production in no way supports your assertion.

Further, how can producing 1 million barrels per day from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) result in an increase in Middle East imports?

Finally, the Sun's editorial calls exploration and development of ANWR an "abominable concept." What we find abominable is the gross misunderstanding over the issue.

The Energy Security Act calls for exploration and development on only 2,000 acres of the 1.5 million in ANWR -- less than half of one percent. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates 10.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil in ANWR -- twice the amount of the oil reserves of Texas.

Exploration would increase U.S. proven reserves by 50 percent while mandating the most stringent environmental protection requirements ever applied to federal energy production. It doesn't just ask -- it demands that wildlife and the environment be protected.

If exploration interferes with migration or calving, it will be shut down. Furthermore, no evidence exists to show that current exploration activities in the North Slope have any adverse impact on the environment or wildlife. In fact, studies show that the caribou herd in the North Slope has increased from 5,000 in 1977, at the beginning of oil development, to 31,000 currently.

The energy bill passed by the House is a forward-looking bill that secures our energy future by reducing our dependence on foreign oil and increasing our reliance on domestic energy production, both conventional and alternative. If this bill passes into law, America's energy supplies will be cleaner, more reliable and less expensive.

Working families throughout Nevada will in turn benefit from cleaner air and lower energy prices. It is our hope that the Senate follows the lead of the House and passes the Energy Security Act, a bill that truly meets our nation's energy needs, protects our environment and best serves the interests of the American consumer.