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This Speakout has not been edited.

By J. Greg Schnacke

“I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.”

— Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve

When it comes to energy, America is at war.

At war with those abroad who threaten our way of life, and control much of our oil.

At war with those at home who want to keep us dependent on foreign sources of energy.

Alan Greenspan says we need to acknowledge the Iraq war is largely about oil. Americans for American Energy says we need to acknowledge we have the resources right here at home to move closer to a goal shared by virtually all Americans: energy independence.

Becoming more energy independent is about preserving the American way of life. It’s about creating jobs and economic opportunities in the United States.

It’s about preserving and bolstering our national security.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 was a landmark bipartisan Congressional accomplishment. Years of work on both sides of the aisle produced a commitment to make our nation’s abundance of domestic energy resources available to all Americans.

But the energy bill passed by the U.S. House this summer, and the continuing energy discussion in Congress, are undermining those efforts and pose a very real threat to American consumers and families.

As a non-profit, grassroots-based organization, Americans for American Energy’s mission is to tell the truth about the need for more energy of all kinds from the North American continent.

We will work to support more oil and gas, clean coal, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydropower, nuclear and energy efficiency across the board.

Our supporters have three core beliefs, central to the public policies we promote:

• America must reduce its growing addiction to foreign energy.

• America must develop a balanced portfolio of all domestic energy resources, including renewable and alternative energy supplies, clean fossil fuels, nuclear power, hydrogen and other advanced technologies.

• Americans must be smarter and more efficient in our energy use, while we grow our overall energy supply to support the standard of living we have come to enjoy.

In an increasingly dangerous world, Americans don’t like being dependent on foreign nations for our energy. Our energy security and a strong economy depend on our country working harder to be energy independent.

We need positive change in our energy policies. We don’t want a strategy that results in our energy dollars flowing to nations openly hostile to the United States.

What can state and federal government leaders do to help promote a greater reliance on American energy? They should do the following:

• Promote increased production of a balanced portfolio of American energy resources.
• Provide for economic incentives that encourage energy efficiency and energy conservation.
• Encourage new technologies that result in environmentally responsible development of renewable and alternative energy resources including solar PV, solar thermal, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydrogen and hydropower.
• Encourage environmentally responsible development of low carbon American energy resources, including increased utilization of North American natural gas supplies.
• Promote investment in the full range of clean coal technologies, with a goal to rapidly achieve near-zero emissions from coal-based electricity generation and environmentally sound coal-to-liquids production.
• Allow environmentally responsible access to America’s abundant oil and gas resources in areas like Alaska, the Rocky Mountain West and deep ocean areas.

• Reform and modernize outdated but well-intentioned laws such as the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, in order to harmonize the twin goals of environmental protection and increased domestic energy production.
• Promote greater deployment of clean and safe nuclear power technologies.

Energy independence is an achievable goal, and the message from Americans is clear: We want action to protect the nation from an uncertain energy future.

J. Greg Schnacke is president of Americans for American Energy, a national non-profit coalition based in Golden, Colorado.

READER COMMENTS

Watch the movie: Who Killed the Electric Car ...and then join Americans for American Energy.

$$$$$$ ...KISSING $100 P/B.....$$$$$$

Can $5 at the pump and $2,000 per month home heating bills be that far behind?

And we are literally standing on top of the solution.

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