Over the weekend, President Obama gathered with leaders from the 20 largest world economies in Seoul, South Korea. The group discussed a range of economic issues, including international trade and currency. News reports of the event, however, reported no discussion of what may be the most important economic issue of our time: alternative sources of energy.
On this issue, our political class has been disappointing. Every president since Richard Nixon has set lofty goals for renewable energy use, but because these goals have always been set long after those presidents were scheduled to leave office, there has been little incentive to actually meet them.
So the result is a country that everyday consumes a fourth of global oil production, 65 percent of which is imported from foreign countries. Some of those countries are Middle Eastern nations hostile to our global interests.
Last month, T. Boone Pickens came to campus to promote his plan to reduce our oil consumption. Pickens proposes using natural gas to replace gasoline in all fleet vehicles – 18-wheelers, delivery trucks, government vehicles, etc. – and using wind power to replace the natural gas we use for electricity. This could reduce the amount of oil we import by one-third over the next ten years.
Whether one agrees with the “Pickens Plan” or not, T. Boone Pickens should be commended for at least putting forth a detailed, realistic plan. Too bad our public leaders haven’t been able to do the same.
It isn’t enough to simply set goals without detailing a serious approach to meet them. We need to have a serious and substantive conversation about energy in this country, and that requires serious and substantive ideas.
Ideally, our leaders should challenge us to respond to our energy challenges with the same ambition and determination that John F. Kennedy showed when he announced America would put a man on the moon.
Without such leadership, America will continue to suffer strategically, economically, and environmentally.
Our reliance on imported oil leaves us dependent on some of the most dangerous regimes in the world, and each year we send them billions of dollars. The volatile price of oil disrupts the economy and increases our trade deficit. On the other hand, producing more of our energy here at home would allow us to create more jobs here. Finally, the consumption of oil has tragic consequences for our environment. It contributes to global warming and leaves us vulnerable to oil spills like the one in the Gulf of Mexico last summer.
These conditions do not have to be. We can control our energy future, and prove to the world again that America is capable of overcoming a great challenge. We just need our leaders to get serious about new sources of energy.
Stefan Spadaro is a freshman majoring in chemical engineering.
