Alternative Fuels Energy Policy Today

Alternative Fuels

Energy policy today should be focused on the development of alternative fuel sources. The case has never been more compelling. Peak oil occurred in 2006, meaning that oil production is already in decline, even as demand soars (Inman, 2010). Economically, the ramifications of peak oil are simply -- as supplies get tighter the price of oil will increase. This will have profound negative consequences for our economy if we cannot replace this energy supply. The oil price spike of 2008 has been found to have materially contributed to the current recession (Hamilton, 2009). Alternative energy policy is central to reducing our economic dependence on this dwindling resource, yet this policy has become bogged down in partisan politics, irrational obfuscation on the part of oil industry interest and entrenched special interests that take a strictly short-term view of economic issues.

If the need for a strong alternative energy policy was not evident on the basis of the simple economic facts, consider the national security implications. One of the biggest threats to national security is the dependence on oil from unstable regions such as the Middle East and Venezuela. Our involvement in the two Gulf wars in directly attributed to our interest in the region's oil reserves. The Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico illustrated that there are non-security risks associated with an oil-first energy platform.

An already strong case for a dramatically improved alternative energy policy is bolstered by the realization that America's strength as a nation is specifically dependent on developing alternative energy technology. Our nation grew to become the richest in the world because we lead the world in innovations -- automobiles, airplanes, consumer appliances, pharmaceuticals and later the media and the Internet just to name a few. Technological leadership has always been essential to America's standing in the world (LaMonica, 2010). There is no reason to believe that the 21st century will be different -- the country that develops the majority of the world's most critical technologies will be the one that assumes the position as the dominant player in the world. Right now, the most obvious need in the world economy is in alternative fuels.

While the enemies of progress -- a loose coalition of oil industry interests, corrupt politicians and science-denying religious fundamentalists -- thwart attempts by government to promote alternative energy, nations such as China are leading the world in developing new energy technologies. That country, already feeling the constraints of energy shortages on economic growth, has become a leader in solar and wind technology, and has some of the biggest hydroelectric projects in the world (Fang, 2006). Other nations such as Germany are also taking the lead in the rollout of alternative fuels. If the United States allows other nations to take the lead in the development of alternative energy, it is allowing them to take the lead in development in the next century (LaMonica, 2010).