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March 1, 2006
The End of Oil By Robert Semple, The New York Times
There is no shortage of ideas about what to do to reduce the demand for oil. In the last two years, there have been three major reports remarkable for their clarity and for their convergence on near-term strategies -- from the Energy Future Coalition, consisting of officials from the Clinton and first Bush administrations; from the Rocky Mountain Institute in Aspen, which concerns itself with energy efficiency; and from the above-mentioned National Commission on Energy Policy, a collection of experts from academia, business and labor. All three groups call for much stronger fuel economy standards, beginning very soon. All three call for major tax subsidies and loan guarantees to help the carmakers develop and market these more efficient cars on a massive scale without going bankrupt. And all three call for an aggressive program to develop gasoline substitutes from starch and sugars, known loosely as cellulosic fuels. These strategies would not only help reduce oil dependency but, in the bargain, greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 40 percent of which come from vehicles. They would not threaten economic growth, especially if Washington stood ready to ease Detroits transition from the S.U.V.'s and light trucks they depend on for their profits (such as they are) to a new generation of cars and trucks. And they are not pie-in-the-sky. Off-the-shelf technology can boost our average fuel economy from 26 to 45 miles an hour in a decade. Brazil already has its cars running on cellulosic fuels. What these groups are talking about -- and what distinguishes them from the administration's rather more passive approach -- is not more research but getting good ideas into commercial production in a hurry. This is going to take serious investment. It will also take real leadership, which may be the biggest missing ingredient of all.
September 2005
The Holy and the Hawks
By Keith Kloor, Audubon Magazine
August 5, 2005
Oil and Security
By George P. Shultz and R. James Woolsey, a Committee on the Present Danger Policy Paper
July 11, 2005
Biofuels and the International Development Agenda
F.O. Licht World Ethanol and Biofuels Report, www.agra-net.com
May 12, 2005
Stirrings in the Corn Fields
The Economist, Special Report
April 19, 2005
The Missing Energy Strategy
New York Times Editorial
April 7, 2005
Gas-thirsty Cars Imperil U.S.
By Edward Epstein, San Francisco Chronicle
March 28, 2005
Unlikely Allies Fight U.S. Oil Dependence
By John J. Fialka and Jeffrey Ball, Wall Street Journal
March 28, 2005
Energy Policy That Can Deliver
By Reid Detchon, The Washington Times
LETTER TO SEN. DOMENICI
May 19, 2005--Today the Energy Future Coalition released a letter signed by a bipartisan group of 45 top national security, labor, and energy policy experts to U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), Chair of the Senate Energy Committee, who is currently marking up a major energy bill. The letter calls for action to increase U.S. national security by reducing dependence on foreign oil:
"We believe domestic biofuels can cut the nation's oil use by 25 percent by 2025, and substantial further reductions are possible through efficiency gains from advanced technologies. That is an ambitious goal, but it is also an extraordinary opportunity for American leadership, innovation, job creation, and economic growth."
LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT
March 24, 2005--More than 25 national security leaders have called on the President to respond to U.S. oil dependence "with a focused, determined effort that accepts nothing less than success."
In a letter sent to the President and released today, the group urges "a major new initiative" to significantly reduce U.S. consumption of foreign oil through "improved efficiency and the rapid substitution of advanced biomass, alcohol and other available alternative fuels."
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