Security and Energy Independence

“America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology. ...we are on the threshold of incredible advances.”
—U.S. President George W. Bush
2006 State of the Union Address

Energy is the lifeblood of the American economy. Cut off the flow of energy and the economy will die. For this reason, energy independence is a matter of national security.

The world's dependence on petroleum has increased significantly in recent years and military tension in the Middle East has escalated into war.

This is not saying the war in Iraq is only about oil, but it would be naive to think that the United States military would be in the Middle East if there were no oil.

Whatever noble reasons given for the war in Iraq and the war against terrorism, without oil at the center of the conflict there would be no U.S. Military operations in the Middle East—and there would be no oil wealth to finance terrorist organizations.

During the 2006 State of the Union Address, the President of the United States said “America is addicted to oil.”

The President used the addiction metaphor in order to dramatically expose America's unhealthy and dangerous dependence on imported oil. It is not the oil itself that is the addiction; the addiction metaphor applies to the behavior of the American people who willingly accept dependence on foreign countries to supply the U.S. with energy—the lifeblood of the economy, and the fuel that gives mobility to the United States military. That collective behavior is self-destructive, similar to what is seen in drug addicts.

“We go from shock to trance... oil prices go up, gas prices at the pump go up, everybody goes into a flurry of activity. And then the prices go back down and suddenly we act like it’s not important, and we start... filling up our SUVs again. And, as a consequence, we never make any progress. It’s part of the addiction. That has to be broken. Now is the time to break it.”
From Barack Obama's first public interview after the election.
60 Minutes with Steve Kroft — November 16, 2008.

The United States of America faces a national security threat—the U.S. consumes 25% of world oil production.

Global oil production exceeds 80 million barrels per day—The USA consumes over 20 million barrels of oil every day.

The Middle East is home to the largest percentage of world oil reserves. Arab Kings and Muslim dictators control the oil in that region of the world, and all Middle East oil producing countries are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The U.S. economy is dependent on foreign oil production. Oil is a global commodity—it doesn't matter where the oil comes from—OPEC sets the global price of oil. Over one trillion dollars will be transferred from European, Asian and American economies into Middle East national treasuries, in 2008, in exchange for oil.

The global economy trades its wealth for Middle East oil enriching the sponsors of terrorism.

Ronald Reagan has been credited for defeating Communism without firing a shot; by economically isolating and suffocating the Soviet Union, while at the same time enticing the Soviet leaders and people toward freedom. In a similar way, initiating action toward achieving global independence from petroleum (as a source of energy) will lead to the defeat of Islamic terrorism.

Try to imagine what would have happened if Europe and America had been paying the Soviet Union one Trillion U.S. dollars every year, during the cold war.

The war against terrorism cannot be won without cutting off the flow of oil money into the Middle East.

Developing alternative transportation fuels, using domestic sources of energy, is the fastest way to reduce the flow of oil money into the Middle East.

American drivers burn over eight million barrels of oil every day in the form of gasoline to power their cars. Another six million barrels of oil is consumed in the USA every day by commercial trucks, trains, buses, airplanes, ships, boats, farm equipment and a multitude of industrial power machinery.

Seventy percent of the oil consumed in the USA is used for transportation fuel—gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

U.S. Electric Utility Companies responded to the threat of the 1973 Arab oil embargo by replacing petroleum fuel oil with natural gas and coal to power their generators.

The USA no longer depends on petroleum to generate electricity for the power grid.

The U.S. Automobile industry must do today what the U.S. Electric Utility industry did over 30 years ago — Kick the oil habit!

American Energy Independence will be achieved when American drivers can fill their cars and trucks with non-petroleum fuels. Today, cars and trucks use gasoline and diesel made from petroleum. Those same cars and trucks can run on USA natural gas or synthetic fuels (made from USA coal and biomass) and electricity generated by USA nuclear and renewable energy.

Energy: The Most Important Issue of 2008 — Speech given by U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) on December 18, 2007 at the Brookings Institution on U.S. Energy Security and the 2008 Presidential Election.
     “Today, I would state unequivocally, that energy security and the economic and environmental issues closely associated with it should be the most important topics of the 2008 Presidential election. I say this deliberately, notwithstanding the existence of extremely important immediate concerns such as the war in Iraq and the performance of the American economy, as well as persistent public policy struggles that have confronted us for decades, such as deficit reduction, health care, and social security. I say this even in the context of my own long standing evangelism related to non-proliferation and arms reduction, issues which I believe have not diminished in importance.
     “Three factors lead me to the conclusion that energy is the most vital topic of this Presidential election:
     “First, energy is the issue with the widest gulf between what is required to make our nation secure and what is likely to be achieved through the inertia of existing programs and Congressional proposals. As such, it is the issue on which meaningful progress most depends on the great intangible in American public policymaking – the application of dramatic, visionary, and sustained Presidential leadership.
     “Congress and private enterprise can make evolutionary energy advancements, but revolutionary national progress in the energy field probably is dependent on presidential action. Our energy dependence is perpetuated by a lack of national will and focus. Only the President has the visibility to elevate a cause to national status, and only the President can leverage the buying power, regulatory authority, and legislative leadership of an administration behind solving a problem that is highly conducive to political procrastination and partisanship.
     “Second, transformational energy policies are likely to be a requirement for achieving our economic and social aspirations here at home. In an era when exploding global demand for energy creates high prices and fears of scarcity, the U.S. economy is likely to continue to underperform. Our ability to address social security, health care, education, and overall budget problems will be heavily encumbered over both the short and the long run if we do not mitigate our energy import dependence. Almost any scenario for recession will be deepened by high energy costs. Moreover, many of the most severe recession scenarios involve sustained energy disruptions due to terrorism, war, embargo, or natural disaster.
     “Third, energy is the underlying condition that exacerbates almost every major foreign policy issue. We pressure Sudan to stop genocide in Darfur, but we find that the Sudanese government is insulated by oil revenue and oil supply relationships. We pressure Iran to stop its uranium enrichment activities, yet key nations are hesitant to endanger their access to Iran’s oil and natural gas. We try to foster global respect for civil society and human rights, yet oil revenues flowing to authoritarian governments are often diverted to corrupt or repressive purposes. We fight terrorism, yet some of the hundreds of billions of dollars we spend each year on oil imports are diverted to terrorists. We give foreign assistance to lift people out of poverty, yet energy-poor countries are further impoverished by expensive energy import bills. We seek options that would allow for military disengagement in Iraq and the wider Middle East, yet our way of life depends on a steady stream of oil from that region. American national security will be at risk as long as we are heavily dependent on imported energy.”

Future wars could be prevented if everyone who has taken a stand against the war in Iraq would turn their passion toward the goal of American Energy Independence. Standing against war is not enough – Standing together for Energy Independence will create a positive political force and a shared national dream.

Recommeded YouTube video:
An Argument for Energy Independence — Former U.S. CIA Director James Woolsey.
This video is an excerpt taken from a discussion recorded in collaboration with the 2007 Aspen Ideas Festival, and was sponsored in part by Chevron Corporation.

Saudis remain the world’s prime source of terror financing
— By Josh Meyer, Los Angeles Times April 2, 2008
“Saudi Arabia remains the world's leading source of money for Al Qaeda and other extremist networks and has failed to take key steps requested by U.S. officials to stem the flow... the Saudi government has not taken important steps to go after those who finance terrorist organizations or to prevent wealthy donors from bankrolling extremism through charitable contributions, sometimes unwittingly. Saudi Arabia today remains the location where more money is going to terrorism, to Sunni terror groups and to the Taliban than any other place in the world.
...Americans who pay more than $100 a barrel for oil are in effect bankrolling extremism because wealthy Saudis “back-door” their profits into charities that fund extremist causes.”