Energy Security and a New Economy

Nearly 25% of the world's oil flows through the uncertain and perilous waters of the Persian Gulf. Because of global economic development, political instability in the Middle East and a costly war in Iraq, the cost of a single barrel of oil is over $100, and Americans consumers are facing near record-setting gasoline prices. Clearly, our national security and our economic future are tied to the cost of oil, and we will never break free from this dependency until we forge a completely new energy policy.

• Our economy and national security depend on a dramatic change in the way we produce energy - and a national commitment to renewable energy that is akin to the commitments we have made in the past with the Manhattan Project and the Apollo Program.
• Accomplishing energy security means enacting significant reforms to our national energy policy, like implementing a federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), increasing investment into the research and development of renewable energy resources, and increasing energy efficiency and conservation measures.
• Colorado is uniquely poised to become an international leader in renewable energy development, and our rural communities stand to gain economic benefits through the pursuit of renewable energy technology.

Read our plan: American Energy, American Innovation >

 

Let me put it as starkly as I can. America's future as a great nation is at peril unless we rapidly achieve energy independence. Currently, our economy would grind to a halt without a steady stream of oil, both from foreign and domestic supplies. Much of the oil used to fuel our economy is controlled by unstable and unfriendly governments, and is susceptible to cost fluctuations from natural disasters, and escalating demand from emerging industrial countries like China and India. Our reliance on oil means that our national security is vulnerable to forces outside our control. That is why it is essential that we diversify our energy portfolio to include a stronger commitment to conservation, and the rapid development of environmentally sustainable and renewable energy resources.

To meet this challenge, we need a more diverse portfolio of energy sources, including renewable energy. A stronger push for energy security based on renewable and sustainable energy sources like solar, biomass, and wind does not mean that we can easily abandon oil, however. Other important energy sources like natural gas, coal and nuclear must be part of the mix. A diverse energy portfolio means that we should responsibly develop-and also conserve-these resources. Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region are blessed with many of these resources, including abundant natural gas and cleaner-burning coal. We can find the right balance in developing these resources responsibly, but we cannot drill our way to energy security. A substantial investment in renewable energy is essential if we want our children and future generations of Americans to be more prosperous and secure.

I have long been an advocate of renewable energy going back to my early efforts at the state legislature to pass Colorado's first renewable energy efficiency standard. In Congress, I devote a major part of my time to the issue of energy development. It is not only a personal passion; I believe energy is an over-arching issue that combines security, prosperity, and environmental quality. If we create a better energy policy for America, we will go far in meeting the challenge of these other issues as well.

In 2004, the Republican Speaker of Colorado's House of Representatives, Lola Spradley and I barnstormed Colorado in favor of passing Amendment 37. This was the state-based initiative that required energy producers to meet a 10% mandate for renewable energy. I remember well how Lola and I were ridiculed by the energy establishment for attempting to push it. The energy establishment and many editorial boardrooms were against us, but the voters of Colorado were with us—and as a result, Colorado passed one of the first renewable energy portfolio standards in the country.

In 2007, I took the wisdom of Colorado's voters to the House of Representatives and we passed an amendment to the energy bill that would have created the first-ever federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). The amendment requires electric utilities to invest in renewable energy sources by requiring that at least 15 percent of their electricity be from wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources by 2020. The amendment also permits the utilities to meet up to 4% of the 15% requirement by increasing energy efficiency. Unfortunately, this crucial step towards enhancing our nation's energy security was blocked in the Senate, and a stronger renewable energy package lost by a single vote! In other words, we are one Senator away from passing the kind of renewable energy legislation our country needs. I strongly believe in the establishment of a federal Renewable Energy Standard and, as your Senator, I'll be the deciding vote to make sure the measure makes it to the President's desk.

As co-chair of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus in the House, I have worked for years to increase funding for the Department of Energy's renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development programs at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). NREL, located in Golden, Colorado, has been at the forefront of research on clean sources of energy. Instead of cutting back on employment and resources at NREL as the Bush Administration infamously attempted last year, I believe we should expand NREL's work and incorporate their mission in an aggressive national effort to boost renewable energy. Not unlike what the country did in World War II with the Manhattan Project and atomic energy, or the Apollo Project and landing a man on the Moon, I believe we need leadership in Congress and in the White House that will capture the public imagination with a clarion call, and stronger legislative actions to promote energy independence.

In Congress, I have authored and supported a wide variety of proposals aimed at supporting renewable energy, enhancing energy conservation, reducing our dependence on oil and advancing so-called "green technology." I've also championed carbon sequestration, to make the use of coal less harmful to the environment. For Colorado's sake, I have fought efforts by the Bush Administration to open up some of our special lands (like the un-drilled portion of the Roan Plateau) to more development because not every place that can support oil drilling should be drilled in my view. There are places we ought to conserve for future generations.

Colorado is uniquely poised to become an international leader in renewable energy development, and our rural communities stand to gain employment and economic benefits from this development. Governor Ritter has spoken about the "new energy economy" in Colorado, and he is absolutely right. In the U.S. Senate, I will fight hard to be a partner with Governor Ritter in making this vision of a more prosperous Colorado a reality.