Time to Get Un-Addicted to Oil

05/13/2010

Update May 7: In a high stakes move, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT)  announced they will introduce the Energy Bill next week. They should use the momentum of the oil spill to remove oil drilling from the bill, but it's still in. The package includes generous revenue shares for coastal states that allow it. 

By Rona Fried, Ph.D.

As someone that's been involved in green business for decades, I've heard all the arguments over the years for continuing along the fossil fuel path of least resistance.

Back in the 1970s, after the oil embargo, President Carter put the US on a path toward energy efficiency and renewable energy, but that was quickly disassembled as soon as President Reagan took office. One of the first things Reagan did was remove the solar panels on the White House.

The theme during the President Bush Senior years was Economy VS. Environment - he insisted we could have one or the other, but not both. We made some limited progress while President Clinton was in office with Al Gore by his side, but even then Congress wouldn't sign the Kyoto Protocol.

Then came President GW Bush - it was during his term that climate science became indisputable; in one of his State of the Union addresses he forced himself to utter the words, "The US is addicted to oil" Still, he removed all the regulations he could - one reason we're seeing the devastating oil spill in the Gulf.

We remain addicted to oil, and like all addictions, we have the choice of allowing it to ruin our "body ecosystem" or get off the addiction.

What would be our situation today if we had invested in a clean energy economy since the 1970s? 40 years have passed with much talk and very little action ... except on-going support for fossil fuels. 

Why do we continue to put our economy and environment at risk - which our current President understands work hand in glove?

All the hoopla about "Drill, Baby, Drill", ignores some crucial facts. First, even if we drilled everywhere possible offshore, that oil would supply a mere 2% of US demand. Second, drilling for homegrown oil doesn't increase our energy independence because the oil is sold on the world markets, not just to the US. Third, oil drilling increases US greenhouse gas emissions, which we can no longer afford to do.

While the path of least resistance continues to be climate change denial, it's easy to observe the impacts. When will we connect the dots? Nashville, Tennessee is under water - they received a half year's rain in just two days this week! In Georgia, after an unusually dry spring, they were pounded with six inches of rain in several hours. The Washington DC area was pummeled by unprecedented amounts of snow this winter and the Midwest saw historic floods. The permafrost in Alaska is melting and entire forests are falling into the water as methane escapes into the atmosphere. Wildfires in the West now occur year-round, glaciers melting worldwide, invasive insects destroying millions of acres of forests, what more evidence does it take?

At some point, denial must give way to survival instincts. The only sure-fire way to prevent tragedies like the BP Deepwater Disaster is to re-enact the offshore drilling moratorium and to replace dirty dangerous fossil fuels with clean energy.

President Obama has made historic investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean transportation, but it's just a start and we're now far behind the rest of the world. The latest polls show that climate change is the #1 concern for people all over the world EXCEPT the United States.

We have all the technology we need to transition to a clean economy that gives us the energy we need without destroying biodiversity, ecosystems, human life and the economy. Studies show that a full 50% of our energy demand can be eliminated through energy efficiency and another 25% can be fulfilled by renewable energy right now. The only thing lacking is the resistance and lack of will among the American people to make this change.

The first electric cars are being introduced this year - how many people will buy them? How many people are still driving gas guzzling SUVs? How many people are making energy efficiency improvements to their homes and businesses?

According to the latest Monthly Energy Review from the US Energy Information Administration, renewable sources (biomass, biofuels, geothermal, solar, water, wind) accounted for 10.94% of domestic U.S. energy production in January 2010, up 3.7% from January 2009.

The renewable energy industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, and that's with just spotty government support. Climate and Energy legislation, which would provide long term strong support, has been postponed once again, this time because of immigration legislation, but mostly because Americans aren't demanding it.

Governor Schwarzenegger announced he would no longer support offshore drilling and some Democrats are threatening to vote against climate legislation if it includes offshore drilling.

Interesting how the relentless television ads promoting oil drilling have suddenly disappeared. While the legions of oil lobbyists are quiet during this catastrophe, there's an opening to exclude  drilling from the climate change bill, which was included to get some Republicans' votes.

Instead of pushing a Climate Change bill that forces President Obama's base to swallow the inappropriate emphasis on fossil fuels (oil drilling, "clean" coal and new nukes), he should use this disaster as an opportunity to demonstrate to America that we do indeed need to get off the oil addiction.

The President should announce he's shelving plans to allow Shell to drill in the Arctic this summer - where the Coast Guard says a spill would be a ‘nightmare scenario' - and instead require all new cars to be manufactured with existing plug-in technologies that get 100 miles per gallon by 2015. And he should make a major speech to the American public educating them about the facts and urgency of addressing climate change and their responsibility to participate.

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Rona Fried, Ph.D. is CEO of SustainableBusiness.com. Another version of this piece appears on my blog on Reuter's.