Enough talk about energy; it’s time for action

David Adams, Las Vegas

Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008 | 2:03 a.m.

These days we are barraged with politicians pontificating about our nation’s energy policy. The Republicans want us to drill our way out of the problem, while the Democrats are dead set against drilling offshore or in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or, for that matter, most anywhere. All agree (as do I) that we need to stress alternative energy sources, and should have been doing so for years now.

But nobody speaks about the real problem. I’m talking about rogue countries such as Venezuela and Iran, with unstable leaders who, quite frankly, don’t like the United States. If either (or both) of these countries ever figured out that they could simply stop oil shipments from their countries (to anyone), they would cripple, if not completely destroy, the economy of the United States. The shortage of oil on the world market would drive prices through the roof — $4-a-gallon gasoline would seem cheap by comparison.

Realistically, we cannot end our dependence on foreign oil immediately, but we can begin to work on it. Yes, alternative energy sources are important, but oil will remain a vital source of energy for this country for many years to come. We need to get passenger vehicles running on something else (natural gas, hydrogen, batteries), but big trucks are another story. Oil will be needed to fuel trucks for the foreseeable future, even if all automobiles are electric. Our entire economy depends on the trucking industry.

So, let’s drill for domestic oil, wherever it exists, let’s subsidize (tax breaks?) battery development, wind and solar farms and fuel cell research, and let’s open up this country to nuclear power plants — by far the least polluting method of energy production. Green is good and all of these solutions can be achieved without destroying the environment, but the future of the United States depends on our becoming energy independent, and soon. So let the politicians quit the B.S.-ing and do something already.