Memes for Energy Policy
With the '07 State of the Union Address President Bush cemented a new meme in the energy policy lexicon: "diverse energy portfolio." By this he means, presumably, a diverse mix of energy sources for vehicle fuels, generation of electricity and heating, including renewable (solar, wind, biomass, ethanol), unconventional (so-called clean coal, liquefied natural gas, oil sands, geothermal), and nuclear technologies.
Though diversifying our portfolio of energy sources is a good and necessary strategy, it illuminates less than half the energy equation, and that's the portion with the longest and riskiest return on investment.
Our proposal for a more accurate and complete meme is "energy competitive economy." By this we mean to include two critical aspects of energy policy virtually unmentioned by President Bush, but that are key to U.S. businesses:
1) Promoting significant gains in the efficient use of the energy sources we have
2) Igniting innovation in the U.S. alternative energy technology industry.
The first is the quickest and least expensive way to reduce the economic impact of energy price volatility and dealing with carbon emissions, which are both key to maintaining U.S. industrial competitiveness.
The second will insure that U.S. industry develops the new energy knowledge and technology that will form the basis of a vibrant export industry. (Particularly to export to the developing economies of China, India, Brazil, Africa and others.) In this competition we'll be measured against the best offered by Europe and Japan, where comparatively consistent carbon regulations and high energy costs have provided a decade-long head start in this important growth industry.
Though diversifying our portfolio of energy sources is a good and necessary strategy, it illuminates less than half the energy equation, and that's the portion with the longest and riskiest return on investment.
Our proposal for a more accurate and complete meme is "energy competitive economy." By this we mean to include two critical aspects of energy policy virtually unmentioned by President Bush, but that are key to U.S. businesses:
1) Promoting significant gains in the efficient use of the energy sources we have
2) Igniting innovation in the U.S. alternative energy technology industry.
The first is the quickest and least expensive way to reduce the economic impact of energy price volatility and dealing with carbon emissions, which are both key to maintaining U.S. industrial competitiveness.
The second will insure that U.S. industry develops the new energy knowledge and technology that will form the basis of a vibrant export industry. (Particularly to export to the developing economies of China, India, Brazil, Africa and others.) In this competition we'll be measured against the best offered by Europe and Japan, where comparatively consistent carbon regulations and high energy costs have provided a decade-long head start in this important growth industry.
posted by point380 at
12:54 PM
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