Energy: Smartness Matters

Wilderness is or it is not. There is no mostly wilderness with just a little bit of development.

President Bush says the United States can pursue energy independence and still protect the environment. No, it can’t. Not by drilling for oil in a 1.5-million-acre slice of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the north coast of Alaska.

The Senate, shadowed by the Enron scandal, will debate the nation’s energy future over the next two weeks. It is a complex issue that also involves energy conservation, auto mileage standards, renewable energy and incentives to energy companies. For Californians, the Senate needs to eliminate or modify a proposal that would require motorists to use ethanol as a gasoline clean-air additive in place of MTBE, a powerful water pollutant. But nationally, Arctic drilling is issue No. 1.

No matter what Vice President Dick Cheney says, U.S. energy security does not depend on drilling for oil in the Arctic refuge. The Alaskan oil would not come on line for at least 10 years. Even at peak production in 2027 the refuge would produce no more than 2% of the nation’s daily consumption. In addition, the refuge is hardly the only place to find more oil. A major company has discovered three large oil and gas fields within the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve, to the west of the refuge. The Clinton administration offered 4 million acres of the reserve to the oil companies. More can be leased.

The Bush administration is rushing exploration and drilling programs in the lower 48 as well, often with poor consideration of environmental consequences. Exploration trucks are tearing up desert lands adjacent to Arches and Canyonlands national parks in Utah. Federal agencies are preparing to allow the drilling of 40,000 coal-bed natural gas wells in northeast Wyoming, a process that wastes an estimated 12,000 gallons of water daily from each well.

There is no easy fix that would free the United States from imported oil, which provides about 60% of the 20 million barrels consumed daily. The fastest way to gain more energy security is to use less oil and use it more efficiently. Congress could cut gasoline consumption 20% by setting lower but still-reasonable auto mileage standards, far offsetting any Arctic oil production. The Senate should end the special classification for gas-guzzling pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

The Senate faces a major choice--the House-passed HR 4, essentially President Bush’s energy plan, emphasizing more development of domestic oil and gas, or Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s S 517, which provides more diversity of energy sources, with greater emphasis on efficiency (including auto mileage standards) and renewable energy. The Daschle bill is better for the environment, air quality and the economy, though perhaps not for oilmen.

The nation doesn’t need a muscle-bound energy policy, it needs a smart one--one that does not rely so heavily on fossil fuels and fossil thinking.