Friedman to Bush: Now's your chance (again)

In a New York Times column today (1.5.07) titled “The First Energy President,” Tom Friedman implores President Bush to follow the legacy set by President Ford back in the mid-1970s, after the Arabs and OPEC has held us over a barrel forcefully enough to prove how addicted we were to oil, especially foreign oil.

We didn’t retain  the lesson. Memory is short, and few politicians have ever been willing to stick their necks out to ask Americans to do anything uncomfortable. But here’s a short quote from Friedman’s column:

Every 10 years we say to ourselves, “If only we had done the right thing 10 years ago.” Well, President Bush has a chance in his State of the Union to call on Americans to honor Mr. Ford by completing his vision. But it means asking Americans to do some hard things: accepting a gasoline or carbon tax; inducing Detroit to make more fuel-efficient cars, trucks and plug-in hybrids; setting a national requirement for utilities to provide 20 percent of their electricity from renewable wind, solar, hydro or nuclear power by 2015; and, finally, making large-scale investments in mass transit.

It is stunning that since 9/11 the Bush team has never mounted a campaign to get Americans to conserve energy.

Hear, hear. Friedman and many others have said this for a long time. Once again, let’s hope it sinks in. Let’s hope politicians develop the good sense and fortitude to lead their constituents, not pander to them. But they won’t do that until constituents let their representatives know that they’re willing to make sacrifices for the future. Write your senators and representatives in Congress and urge them to pursue energy independence aggressively.

www.senate.gov

www.house.gov

~ Doug Logan, New Energy Watch

Comments

[Michael Ioffe]

“inducing Detroit to make more fuel-efficient cars, trucks and plug-in hybrids” On my opinion we need to understand that for safety reason our cars 10 times heavier than passengers. Efficiency of engine is around 40%.and apply to car, baggage and passengers. Mostly we are driving in cars alone. That means that real efficiency of cars less than 1%. Everything what you asking Detroit to do will still in result make waste of energy in cars around 95-99%. It is wrong direction and not so good advice to cars companies.
“accepting a gasoline or carbon tax.” It will punish not producer of cars, who do not have strategy to transportation system of new millennium, but consumers, and production.
“setting a national requirement for utilities to provide 20 percent of their electricity from renewable wind, solar, hydro or nuclear power by 2015;” Hydro power can’t be increase significantly and in any place. Wind and solar energy can’t work all times. That means we need complicated wind, solar plus additional source of energy. It is waste of money and resources.
Nuclear power plants the same as huge power plants using coal, oil and gas waste more than 80% of their energy-heat energy. Heat is the same pollutant and even worst, as CO2 and others greenhouse gases. Suggestions that fission nuclear energy is save for global warming are wrong.
“and, finally, making large-scale investments in mass transit.” Efficiency of mass transit transportation especially on short distances also no more than 1-3%.
As I see not Government, nor car industries, nor mass media have any good strategy what to do with energy problems, global warming, dependency from foreign source of oil in USA and the world.
I can provide you with my vision of strategy in these directions.
Michael Ioffe, mioffe_2000@yahoo.com

[Logan]

You make some good points, especially about the inherent wastefulness of cars, especially heavy, inefficient cars that carry around one passenger at a time.

I gather that your vision for the future includes a revamped public transportation system. If so, I'm all for it.