Energy Independence Day

Jerome Ringo

June 28, 2006

Jerome Ringo, a resident of Lake Charles, Louisiana and a 20-year veteran of the petrochemical industry, is President of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of labor unions, environmentalists, business leaders, and social justice organizations united for energy independence and good jobs. For more information, visit www.apollochallenge.com.

It has been nearly five years since the attacks of 9/11. Nearly five years since President Bush made the momentous and sobering decision to send our young men and women off to fight in a war on terror.

In response to the president’s call, millions of Americans have stepped up to do their part. Our nation is stronger for the prayers and sacrifice of so many, especially those of our veterans and their families.

And yet, for many of us, the questions still gnaw. What lesson do we take from the horror in Iraq? Can’t we do anything to prevent more bloodshed in that terribly unstable part of the world? What can we do today, now, to make our nation more secure and free?

Not so very long ago, President John Kennedy recognized our spirits needed a lift after the Soviet's launched the Sputnik satellite. Many feared that Sputnik spelled Soviet dominance in space, and the possibility that America would lose its technological edge.

Kennedy took action, calling for an Apollo program to land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth in just 10 years. The technology to achieve the goal didn't exist at the time Kennedy spoke. But he knew our "can do" nation was up to the challenge.

Today, we have our own Sputnik moment. Escalating violence in Iraq. Gas costing $3 a gallon.  Hurricanes of historic power that knocked out oil production along the Gulf Coast.

It’s not hard to connect the dots: The oil our nation imports helps to fund the other side in the war on terror. Violence in the Middle East makes oil supplies tight. Disruptions to our oil supply from category 5 hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico have pushed up fuel pump prices to historic highs. We'll see more big hurricanes because the burning of fossil fuel contributes to global warming, heating Gulf waters and adding more power to these storms. In short, our dependence on imported oil traps us in a cycle of economic, environmental, and military insecurity.

President Bush understands things have changed. He announced in his State of the Union address that we must end our addiction to oil, a welcome move for a former Texas oil man. 

Yet despite the urgency of the situation and the obvious public appeal of a nationwide commitment to kick the oil habit, neither the president nor Congress has taken concrete action on the issue. House Republicans promised to unveil a bold energy agenda this week in the run up to Independence Day, but so far have offered nothing but warmed over proposals to drill in U.S. coastal waters—proposals that would feed rather than kick the oil habit.

Still, there are glimmers of hope from in Congress.

Two dozen senators of both parties have co-sponsored legislation—the Vehicle and Fuel Choices for American Security Act—that would invest in home-grown ethanol in order to cut our oil use by 25 percent over the next 20 years. The bill provides incentives for domestic manufacture of advanced technology vehicles and components, including gas-electric hybrid and ethanol-capable vehicles. It encourages oil retailers to deploy ethanol fuel pumps. And it gives farmers and foresters the incentives to produce ethanol feedstocks—switchgrass, corn stalks, and saw dust—on American soil.

While this legislation wouldn’t end oil imports, it would give drivers a choice of cheaper, homegrown fuel if events in the Middle East or natural disasters cause gas prices to spike.

Even more ambitious, Sen. Harry Reid and 24 Democratic colleagues introduced the Clean EDGE Act, a comprehensive “Apollo Plan” to build a 21st Century “clean energy” economy. Like the Vehicle and Fuel Choices Act, Clean EDGE sets an ambitious oil savings goal, but it goes further. One innovative provision would provide federal loan guarantees for manufacture of renewable energy components, ensuring that working families hard hit be industrial outsourcing would benefit from development of wind and other clean power sources.

Either of these bills could become the cornerstone of a new Apollo program for our time, a program of national incentives and investments to replace oil with homegrown fuel, generate clean power, and promote energy efficiency. Such a program could create up to 3 million good American jobs, boost farm income, curb global warming pollution, and reduce chances that we’d ever have to fight another ugly war in the Middle East.

Ultimately, though, Washington won’t act without pressure from citizens. Just as President Kennedy challenged our nation to send a man to the moon, the public must now rise up to challenge our nation's leaders for a new commitment to energy independence and good American jobs. I can think of no better way to celebrate this July 4.