Letter: Energy independence is the key to success

Thursday, Aug. 24, 2006 | 7:53 a.m.

The situation in the Middle East continues to be a mess and the Bush administration really doesn't have a clue on what this country can and should do about solving the problems that face us in that area of the world.

I truly believe that a good start to solving the problems that we face in the Middle East would be to work toward eliminating our dependency on Middle East oil. A broad-based, government-backed alternative energy program could "wean" us off of foreign oil and allow us to turn our backs on many of the problems that we currently face. A broad-based alternative energy program would also create jobs for Americans at home and would be a boon to the American economy.

Does anyone really believe that we as a country would really care about what goes on in the Middle East if Israel was getting along with their Arab neighbors, and we weren't using millions of barrels of Arab oil on a daily basis? I think we all know the answer to that question!

The major problem with this country achieving energy independence, however, is the attitude and beliefs of the present Bush administration. Both President Bush and his second-in-command, Vice President Dick Cheney, are big-time oil men. They don't plan to get this country off of its addiction to oil any time in the immediate future.

Between the big oil companies and the big three automobile manufacturers, look for oil to continue to be our main source of energy. That shouldn't be! Renewable sources of energy available in this country (wind, solar, ethanol and hydrogen to name a few) could go a long way toward making us energy-independent. Energy independence would help us solve many of the problems that we face in the Middle East.

Larry Burgess, Henderson