[Lott] A Serious Issue | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

[Lott] A Serious Issue

We say we're upset by gasoline prices. We complain because it costs $30 dollars to fill up our car or perhaps $40 or even $50 to fill up our truck. But do we really care about the country's dependance on foreign oil? Are we really serious about reducing our dependency? Apparently not. In recent months it seems we've come to accept $1.80 and $2 per gallon fuel prices. Unless America wakes up and adopts a national energy policy, we're going to see increases at the pump again and again until one day Congress and citizens alike will be forced to make a sudden, sobering change in the way America lives, works and travels.

A few weeks ago a Mississippi reporter asked me, "Senator, wouldn't you say that given the talk about energy policy today that Jimmy Carter was ahead of his time?" Now that wasn't a real serious question about energy policy in 2004, but rather an attempt to spruce up a presidency that ended 25 years ago - one I presume was personally fancied by the writer. Still, I'm not getting many serious questions about energy from constituents concerned about energy prices anymore. The trivial treatment of the energy issue by the press, public and politicians concerns me because, outside of fighting terrorism, this is the most serious national security issue Americans face. It seems we've slipped into another period of denial which will last until gas prices hit $2.50 or $3 per gallon. Then what will we do?

Folks, we've got to do better than just have half-hearted, periodic, pie-in-the-sky talks about energy policy. We've got to act.

The energy policy plan that Congress has been trying to pass for several years doesn't resemble anything Jimmy Carter or anyone else proposed in the 1970s, and it shouldn't. That was a different time, and America was a different place. Since then, we've devised ways to find and retrieve oil and natural gas with little environmental risk. We've made our cars, air-conditioners and refrigerators more efficient and environmentally friendly. Emissions have been cut dramatically to the point where a vehicle today exhausts only a tiny fraction of the hydrocarbons produced by autos of the 1960s or '70s. Fuel cells are advancing rapidly. Auto companies are beginning to offer not only hybrid cars, but also hybrid trucks that run on
both gas and electric power. But, even with the advances, our economy has grown and so has energy consumption. We're not going to slow down our economy. We don't have to accept a lower standard of living. We simply must take the issue seriously and adopt a real energy plan.

Unlike any previous energy proposal, the energy bill before the Senate recognizes that reducing America's dependence on foreign oil must include a multi-faceted or what I call "whole package" approach. It contains incentives for more modern, clean energy exploration, particularly in the U.S. where we're not beholden to the politics of a hostile nation. And, it
provides incentives for alternative energy technologies like wind and solar power. It sounds sensible because it is. However, even though the plan is solid, its chance are 50-50.

Some folks in Congress still are not serious about energy policy because a majority of Americans don't seem to be concerned. Members of Congress make idealistic floor speeches about how they want less dependancy on foreign oil, but they're not very realistic. It seems they oppose any type of new domestic production. Whether it's proposed for Alaska or the Gulf of Mexico, they simply resist any type of traditional energy exploration or usage, even
if it poses little risk. That's got to change. America must become energy independent with an energy policy that simultaneously employs every resource and technical skill we have available in the 21st Century.

Outside of fighting terrorism, energy policy is the most daunting issue facing our country. We're either going to realize the seriousness of our dependence now and deal with it, or put it off until it deals with us. We can have both a clean environment and affordable energy if we really want it. So what will it be America?

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