GOP Senator from Wyoming, John Barrasso, has said that the United States must tap all oil and coal resources available domestically for energy production as relying on renewable sources will not fulfill the energy needs of the country.

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Noting that there are vast untapped reserves of oil in coastal areas as well as the Outer Continental Shelf, the Senator said that if the goal of energy independence is to be achieved these resources along with clean coal technology and nuclear power must be used. While pointing to domestic oil fields he said there was enough oil to quench the demand.

“There’s enough oil shale in the Rocky Mountain West alone to power America for the next hundred years. As a nation, we need to be more energy independent. It is a matter of energy security, as well as national security.”



Even if the United States replaces all its foreign oil supplies with domestic supplies how will it tackle the problem of increased carbon emissions as the country would comfortably fall back on the cushion of ‘energy independence’ and would become even more addicted to oil. The price of cutting carbon emissions after that would be too high and would be comparable to, if not greater than, the price America pays to import oil.

The Senator also pointed out that since the renewable energy sources contribute only one percent to the entire energy basket the emphasis must continue to be on oil and nuclear energy. Here are some tough questions for the Senator: Why shouldn’t renewable sources be developed at a faster pace? Why shouldn’t there be aggressive investment in developing affordable and sustainable renewable energy? Why shouldn’t America try to increase the contribution of renewable energy in total energy production?

United States is the second largest greenhouse gas producer in the world, in addition, it has the historical responsibility to cut it carbon emissions and switch to cleaner energy sources much more aggressively. It refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol which would have required it to reduce its carbon emissions by a minimum of 5 percent and it remains the only major industrialized nations not to agree to the protocol’s terms. Now, when the world stands at a crucial juncture with countries, especially China, willing to cooperate on the next climate treaty a move by the United States to move back to fossil fuels instead of switching to renewable energy would be disastrous.

In addition, returning to fossil fuels would set a wrong precedent for rest of the world which is looking for leadership from the United States in renewable energy investments. All the hard work done in convincing the Chinese to limit their industrial carbon emissions would be lost to such careless policy shifts, if they are undertaken in the US Congress.

The Senator’s remarks only contradict the scientific studies which found out that renewable sources can easily fulfill all power needs of the United States. The Department of Interior released a report according to which wind energy could meet 100 percent US electricity supply. According to an Ernst & Young report, United States took over Germany in becoming the most attractive market for renewable energy investment.

With so much potential to tap and substantial amounts of credit waiting to enter the renewable energy sector, it would be unfortunate, environmentally and economically, to switch back to fossil fuels. American policy makers must understand that energy independence does not only meet independence from strategic claws that America often finds itself in leading it to use its armed forces to secure energy resources but also independence from greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide which has been declared a health hazard.

Recession and the improved negotiations scenario with respect to the next climate treaty is a chance to move forward and adopt technologies that result in improvements in economic as well as environmental conditions and thus policy makers must carry on and accelerate on the path to build a country and an economy based around renewable energy sources.

Image: biggunben (Creative Commons)