By 2050, our country's energy needs will double. In order to meet that challenge our nation must find a way to produce the affordable and dependable energy needed for our homes and workplaces while ensuring that our environment is clean. Simply put, the quest for energy independence is the single greatest scientific and economic challenge of our time.
It is the Apollo Project of our generation. And with unmatched prowess in energy research, our universities, laboratories, and public-private organizations can meet that challenge - if we are committed to the challenge. If we are not, we will become more and more dependent on other nations for energy, goods, and services. If we are not, we will see more and more of our money and our jobs go overseas.
ON GAS PRICES
The cost of crude oil now accounts for nearly 75 percent of the price of gasoline, an astonishing 40 percent more than it did at the end of 2006. Saudi Arabia refuses to produce additional oil and OPEC leaders are calling for $200 per barrel oil. The costs of driving to work and shopping for groceries are climbing, too. Hundreds of billions of American dollars are sent to foreign countries, in turn limiting the capital we have available to weatherize our homes, invest in smart appliances and fuel-efficient cars, and even pay the bills. As our money goes overseas, so goes our manufacturing base. Companies seek locations where energy is cheaper and environmental regulation is non-existent. Expensive energy costs us jobs and our livelihoods.ON DOMESTIC DRILLING AND PRODUCTION
Energy conservation is part of the solution. If we reduce demand, prices will fall. But even as the US works to conserve gasoline, other countries such as China are increasing their energy demands. We must also increase supply by exploring – in an environmentally responsible manner - for domestic oil in the Western Rockies, along the oceanic coasts, and in northern Alaska. Sadly, Congressional and presidential directives have declared most of these territories off-limits, including the Colorado shale where the Energy Department estimates over one and a half trillion barrels reside. On the Continental Shelf, American companies can drill no closer to our shores than 130 miles. Meanwhile, China and Cuba can drill only 50 miles off the Florida coast!Permits to build new oil refineries have been tied up for decades. Congress has blocked construction of new refineries on abandoned military bases. With our refineries operating at 98% capacity, suppliers must import fuel from other countries further increasing prices.