Energy Independence

More than 30 years ago, on July 20th, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed Executive Order 12003 - Energy Policy and Conservation. This was the first and only comprehensive energy policy that this nation has ever had. Although its projected goal was to bring about energy independence for America by the year 2000, In 1981, shortly after taking office, Ronald Reagan succumbed to pressures, from both the Saudi’s and the oil industry, and summarily rescinded the entire Carter Energy Policy. First and foremost, everyone should be aware that there are no quick fixes for America’s current energy crisis. Anita de Palma believes we must establish a clear goal for America to become energy independent within the next 24-years, by the year 2032. To this end, she has laid out a bold eighteen step Energy Program.

A Plan for Energy Independence

Essential Components

  • Provide funding for R&D to develop new sources of energy especially in the areas of solar and alternative fuels (including alternatives to jet fuel and diesel) and for the development of hybrid vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells.
  • Provide tax credits to individuals and businesses that add insulation and solar panels to their homes and offices, and who replace high energy consuming appliances and machinery with energy-efficient products and equipment.
  • Provide tax credits to individuals and businesses that purchase hybrid vehicles or who convert existing vehicles to run on ethanol, bio-diesel, hydrogen or any other alternative fuel.
  • Provide tax credits to public utilities who convert power plants from oil to American harvested natural gas, coal, gasified-coal, hydrogen or other alternative fuels.
  • Reinstate, and vigorously enforce, the “Wind-Fall Profits Tax” on oil companies.
  • Require that within 5-years, all federal government vehicles be hybrids or be converted to, and required to run on, alternative fuels – including all military ground vehicles that are not deployed in combat (or potential combat) situations.
  • As a requirement to receiving federal highway and transportation funds, mandate that all state government vehicles be hybrids or be converted to, and required to run on, alternative fuels.
  • Provide government grants to municipalities to establish, maintain and expand mass transportation systems.
  • Establish a higher Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) Standard for passenger cars and light trucks.
  • Require that by 2020 all vehicles produced or sold in the United States must be hybrids and manufactured to run on alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, ethanol or bio-diesel.
  • Require that by 2018, all corporate owned and operated service stations be required to have bio-diesel, along with hydrogen or ethanol (or both) available for purchase by American consumers.
  • Increase government funding to Amtrak to establish new commuter routes, improve current tracks (along with laying new track) and to update and procure more up to date rolling stock.
  • Increase funding to the Departments of Energy and Transportation to establish an inter-state network of high-speed passenger trains – such as mono-rail or mag-lev trains. According to Rutgers University, the per-mile cost of such a system is less than the per-mile cost of building an inter-state road system.
  • Repeal the law prohibiting to the distillation of ethanol by private citizens and allow individuals to produce non-drinkable alcohol fuel.
  • Provide government grants and government backed low-interest loans to establish vast, but ecologically sound, solar and wind power electrical production areas throughout the United States.
  • Close investment loopholes, currently exacerbating the artificially high cost of oil. These loopholes have created the so-called “Dark Markets” – commodity markets that are not controlled by U.S. authorities and allow for the manipulation and outright control of the oil market. Some experts believe that as much as 60 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline or heating oil can be directly attributed to pure speculation and abusive and manipulative trading practices.
  • Establish a “Use It, or Lose It” policy with regard to granting petroleum producers new oil drilling rights on federal land. There is over 68 million acres, currently under lease to oil companies, that has the potential reserves to nearly double U.S. oil production and increase natural gas output by 75 percent. Even though they have these leases, oil producers refuse to develop these resources. This plan proposes that unless these lease holders develop these areas, they should lose them and not be allowed to submit requests for new federal drilling rights.
  • End the War in Iraq. According to a March 10, 2008 article in
The American Conservative, the military demands for oil amounts to “just over 3 million gallons per day” – that’s over 1 billion gallons annually that could be used to augment our domestic petroleum demands and would have a major impact in reducing the current rising fuel costs.

The Critical Challenges We Now Face

We are running out of oil: In the 1950s a geologist named Dr. M. King Hubbert developed the Hubbert curve, which has become the primary tool for predicting the peak in world’s oil supply. Dr. Hubbert found that the world oil supply will reach its peak availability between 2005 and 2010 – after that, the supply of oil would begin to steadily and rapidly decline. Even more disquieting, according to a 1998 U.S. Geological Survey Report, oil accounts for 40% of all energy used in the United States. Therefore it becomes critical that America continues to have access to this resource and develops an equivalent and improved replacement if we are to continue our current standard of living.