It seems that everyone has a reason to complain about energy policy. Some are concerned about the carbon impact on the environment from the use of fossil fuels. (Which I am not, but that is a subject of another tidbit…) Others are worried about big companies being too greedy. I believe as long as we ensure there is competition in the market, prices have to follow economic laws of supply and demand. But, I am somewhat concerned because when companies and countries get together and artificially set prices, I see a problem. Despite their attempts however, OPEC has not been entirely successful at setting the prices of oil.

My greatest concern about our energy policy is that we buy oil from countries and people who we would otherwise never support. We put our money into Marxist dictatorships, and authoritarian regimes that not only do not share our values but actively support people and principles that go against the core values of the people of the United States. To me, this is a huge problem. Aside from indirectly supporting terrorism, our dependence on foreign oil allows our economy to be manipulated by foreign entities like OPEC. As we saw when gas prices hit $4 a gallon, market manipulation caused a ripple effect leaving people who were financially on the edge, unable to pay their bills. This caused hardship for not only them but the whole country.

Reducing dependence on foreign oil is a constant campaign theme, but have we really done anything meaningful in this regard? Not that I can tell, but I do have some ideas on reducing our dependence on foreign oil and I think this an area where I may be able to garner some bi-partisan support.

So far, wind power seems not to provide the return on investment needed in order to be a viable energy source. Ethanol, from corn, is also a diminishing return on investment, and ultimately is less efficient and dirtier to produce than normal fuel. Solar power is similar concerning the return on investment. But I am optimistic that as this industry and technology develops, the cost of producing solar energy for individual homeowners and businesses will drop, making it much more cost effective. I support investing in further development of this technology.
Coal energy is still viable and can be done in an environmentally responsible way with new technology and clean burning plants. I do not believe there is a good reason to kill this industry and the coal producing states, the way that I believe the Cap and Trade bill will. I would seek to repeal the Cap and Trade if it passes and put policy in place which encourages older coal plants to switch over to clean burning technology.

Some look at France as the shining example of reducing their “carbon footprint” per capita. What makes the French so good at this? Nuclear power. Because of the stigma associated in the United States surrounding nuclear power, many people are wary of it. I believe that the technology now exists to build nuclear power plants that are extremely safe and also are able to recycle their used fuel. Having spent a good portion of my naval career living on top of a nuclear power plant, I can tell you I trust this technology with my life. We need to start replacing our old power plants with clean burning nuclear power. By doing this, we would greatly reduce our need for oil.

Finally, I want to get us out from under the OPEC thumb. My proposal is two pronged. #1, allow oil drilling to take place wherever oil exists in the United States and surrounding waters. Companies already adhere to the highest environmental standards and I support that. I just want to make sure they can drill, and once done, leave the area in better condition than they found it. #2, as soon as the green light is given for domestic drilling, impose an initial $10 per barrel tariff on all crude oil that originates outside the North American continent. This money will be set aside to fund alternate energy research and education in order to develop new energy technology. Each year, the tariff on oil originating outside of the North American continent will be incrementally increased by an amount determined to minimize the impact to the economy while gradually forcing OPEC out of our market.

My goal would be to complete this process of completely pricing foreign oil out of our markets within 5 to 10 years.
Our dependence on foreign oil must stop, and this is my vision of how to make that happen. We must resist having our economy controlled directly by people who do not share our values.

I believe the people concerned about carbon emissions will favorably view this plan because it will significantly reduce the amount of carbon emissions as we transition to other forms of power. There will still be many companies competing for our energy needs and keeping prices controlled according to supply and demand. Also, because they will all be operating within North America, we can ensure attempted price fixing, OPEC style, becomes a thing of the past. Most importantly to me, within 10 years we will have weaned ourselves from foreign oil and be able to address foreign policy issues from a position of relative economic security. OPEC is one special interest group we can do without.

It’s time we did this… It won’t be easy, but as a country, it is time to resist.

My greatest Navy survival school lesson: I’d rather be hungry and free in the woods than have a full belly in a prison cell.