Opinion: U.S. energy policy

The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun on U.S. energy policy, from Oct. 14, 2012:

Thousands of miles apart, in vastly disparate environments, the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska's Chukchi Sea have something in common: Both illustrate the increasing futility of an energy policy heavily dependent on oil.

The risks in the Gulf's offshore drilling became brutally apparent in April 2010, when a BP deep-sea well exploded, killing 11 oil rig workers and causing a massive spill of almost 5 million barrels of crude.

In the Chukchi Sea, off Alaska's northwest coast, the challenge is not the depth of the water but the ice upon it. Floating sheets of ice, along with powerful waves, have confounded Royal Dutch Shell's so-far six-year, $5 billion effort to drill offshore. Approaching winter and persistent problems with an oil-containment barge recently forced Shell to postpone its efforts for another year.

The difficulties and risks, both in the Gulf and in the Arctic, were summed recently by Houston Chronicle columnist Loren Steffy: "Quite simply, the easy stuff is gone. All that's left requires expensive and time-consuming drilling techniques."

Consequently, claims by candidates or elected officials that America could achieve oil independence if government would only get out of the way are just a lot of hot air.

What America needs is a national energy policy that:

- Removes federal tax breaks for the oil and gas industry and invests the new revenue in promoting energy efficiency and the development of alternative sources.

- Offers incentives to homeowners, residential developers and businesses to employ energy conservation and renewables.

- Requires public utilities to generate a substantial share of their power from renewable sources within the next decade ...

America will remain dependent on oil and gas for the foreseeable future. But the president and Congress must shape a long-term policy that reduces dependence on the dwindling supply of fossil fuels and facilitates the transition to an inevitable reliance on renewable energy.

Online:

http://www.gainesvillesun.com