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OAKLAND, Calif.
--Energy independence has been a mantra of presidential politics since Jimmy Carter called it the "moral equivalence of war." Unfortunately, the presidents' actions have rarely matched their words.Consider President Barack Obama's campaign promise to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, while increasing our use of "alternative" fuels. In fact, administration policies will ensure America's dependence on foreign oil far into the future.
There is no on-off switch that will allow the United States to end its addiction
The administration, however, won't go there. Congress last year decided to allow the moratorium on offshore drilling in untapped areas of the Outer Continental Shelf to expire. Recent polls show that 61 percent of Americans support this policy. But Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, saying more studies are needed, has placed a hold on offshore leasing--keeping as much as 1 million barrels of domestic oil per day off limits.
We've had enough studies. If President Obama and Secretary Salazar are concerned about the environment, they should consult the National Academy of Sciences, which confirms that less oil is spilled by offshore drilling than seeps through the ocean floor naturally. Even during hurricanes Katrina and Rita, no significant oil spills were reported from Gulf rigs.
The new administration also has suspended a program for leasing government-owned tracts of oil-shale land in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. As much as 1.6 trillion barrels of oil can be extracted from those deposits, according to reliable estimates, more than triple Saudi Arabia's proven reserves.
Although recovering shale oil in an environmentally responsible way is a challenging technological problem, new methods already are under development here and in Alberta, Canada, which experienced an economic boom during last year's run-up in crude oil prices.
Regardless of the challenge, producing oil from shale is no more daunting than safeguarding oil tankers from Somali pirates, mollifying Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez, or suppressing dissidents bent on sabotaging Nigerian oil fields. The administration, in its record $3.6 trillion federal budget, also has eliminated funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage facility, which could stall needed expansion of America's nuclear generating capacity.
And then there is the $80 billion to $90 billion in new taxes the administration has proposed for Big Oil over the next 10 years. A large part of that increase will be passed on to households and businesses in the form of higher prices. One study estimates that 271,000 petroleum jobs could be destroyed by the administration's policies, which also will trigger job losses in other energy-intensive industries, including paper, cement, fertilizer, steel and glass manufacturing.
With America in the midst of an economic crisis, it is no time to burden any industry with additional taxes and fees.
The administration's hostility to nuclear power and domestic oil and gas production means the United States will remain hostage to foreign oil. It also means the new administration would rather go further into debt than generate revenues from domestic energy production.
According to a recent study by the global consulting firm ICF International, developing oil and natural gas in areas that have been closed off by government moratorium could generate $1.7 trillion in government revenue and create thousands of jobs.
Backpedaling on energy policy confirms what many have feared: that President Obama cares less about achieving energy independence than saluting the ideological totems of the green lobby.
William F. Shughart II is a senior fellow with the Independent Institute and professor of economics at the University of Mississippi.
