Energy

By Greg Zotta

U.S. needs to become energy independent as a matter of national security

The United States needs to strive to become energy independent. It is a matter of national security because oil/gasoline is the lifeblood of our economy. At the present time the United States has to deal with several countries that do not like us. OPEC is holding this country hostage. They are refusing to boost production even though the demand is picking up to keep the prices high.

The rising costs of oil and gasoline is caused by many factors, some of them are supply and demand, a play on the value of the dollar, speculators, government regulation, EPA, refineries or lack thereof.

There is no reason why we should not have an energy policy that would be in the best interest for this country. Perhaps it is because of the environmental lobbyists who do not want the oil companies drilling for oil, or is it because of the infighting between the Democrats and Republicans. I believe this is a matter of national security. Neither party has done a good job of creating an energy policy that is beneficial to this country. The solutions proposed by the Democrats do nothing to bring down the costs. Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama want to seize the profits of the oil companies or impose a windfall profits tax on them. Several years ago when gasoline prices were lower Paul Simon, the Democrat Senator from Illinois, wanted to increase the price of gasoline to four to five dollars a gallon to pay for social programs. Also when gasoline prices were lower there were several democrats proposing a surcharge on the price of gasoline because their states were not getting enough tax revenue.

I do not believe the United States should impose a windfall profit tax or seize the profits of the oil companies and I do not believe the oil companies need to be subsidized with taxpayer money.

The United States needs to become more energy independent because it is vital to our economy and our country. The oil companies need to be able to drill for more oil where the oil is. Environmentalists fear the pollution factor, but we must have faith in the oil companies to drill responsibly and to protect the environment. China and Mexico are drilling in the Gulf of Mexico at the present time. Do you think they are concerned with protecting the environment? We need to find alternative sources of energy and to ease some of the burdensome regulations imposed on the industry. The United States should encourage the development of alternative fuels as long as it does not come from crops in the food group as it does now. This is leading to food inflation because not only do humans eat corn and corn products it is used for feed for the animals. This is driving up the costs because of supply and demand. Instead hemp is a better alternative for the production of alternative fuel. It is a weed, not in the food group, and its fuel burns cleaner and better.

The most recent energy bill should be revised or repealed. The auto industry does need to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. The oil companies and ethanol companies do not need to be subsidized with taxpayer money. If they are profitable they can keep the profits. The bill also bans the incandescent light bulb in favor of the mercury filled (environmental concerns) compact fluorescent bulbs. Thomas Edison must be rolling in has grave.

I would also like to encourage the use of nuclear power as another source of energy. People are concerned with its safety. I believe we have the technology to be able to use nuclear power in a safe way. Then there is the problem of where to put the facilities. Some people are in favor of it as long as it is not in my back yard. To start with, my suggestion would be to put them at the military bases that have been closed down.

Another problem with the high cost of fuel is the lack of refineries in this country. There hasn't been a refinery built in this country for decades. Also the refineries throughout different parts of the country refined different grades of fuels because of EPA regulations. This leads to rising costs due to supply and demand. The refiners are unable to produce enough fuel because of the EPA regulations and the lack of refineries throughout the country to produce the supply for the demand.