Earth Equity News

American Energy Policy, Asleep at the Spigot. Commentary by Nelson D. Schwartz, NYTimes, July 6, 2008. "For all the surprise at just how high oil prices have climbed, and fears for the future, this is one crisis we were warned about. Ever since the oil shortages of the 1970s, one report after another has cautioned against America's oil addiction. Even as politicians heatedly debate opening new regions to drilling, corralling energy speculators, or starting an Apollo-like effort to find renewable energy supplies, analysts say the real source of the problem is closer to home. In fact, it's parked in our driveways. Nearly 70 percent of the 21 million barrels of oil the United States consumes every day goes for transportation, with the bulk of that burned by individual drivers, according to the National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan research group that advises Congress.' Although oil prices remained low through the 1990s, consumption patterns were taking an ominous turn... In recent years, [former EPA Administrator William K.] Reilly says that both the White House and Congress have passed up opportunities to call for higher gas taxes and fuel standards in the name of national security, especially after the Sept. 11 attacks. 'We could have, but we didn't, says Mr. Reilly, who describes himself as a moderate Republican. 'It's part of a long pattern in which Democrats and Republicans have not wanted to wade into this issue.'"