Energy
How to Talk About the Issue
WE KNOW that we need to end our national addiction to oil and address the problem of global warming. Yet soaring gas prices are hitting Americans hard, and they want immediate action. So don’t start by talking about sacrifice. Frame the issue by agreeing with Americans that our nation needs to become energy independent.
WE SHOULD SAY: We can't afford our addiction to imported oil. Oil prices are squeezing families, sabotaging the economy, and undermining our national security. We need change. Let’s invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy—because we can't drill our way to energy independence. In the short term, let's crack down on oil company price gouging, put a stop to Wall Street oil speculation, and pressure companies to start exploring for oil on the millions of acres of federal land they already lease.
The Facts
Gas prices are at an all-time high. When George W. Bush took office in January 2001, the average price of regular gasoline was $1.47 per gallon. The average price has more than doubled to $3.57 (as of October 3, 2008). Even adjusted for inflation, gas prices have more than doubled under the Bush administration. As a result, the average household will spend about $2,300 more on gasoline this year than in 2000 (adjusted for inflation). [Oil Price Information Service]
Oil company profits are the highest in history. Exxon Mobil reported a profit of $41 billion for 2007, the highest profit ever reported by an American corporation. Profits of the five biggest international oil companies have tripled since 2002. [Washington Post]
The Bush administration energy plan was written by the secret Cheney Energy Task Force with the help of big oil companies. According to the National Journal [April 7, 2001], "Executives from such industry giants as Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Oil Co., as well as company and trade group lobbyists, held productive sessions with task force officials." As a result, "the task force recommendations read pretty much like a wish list of subsidies and giveaways to oil, gas, and coal producers who made hefty campaign contributions to the Bush-Cheney Team," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution [September 22, 2003] reported.
Since 2001, the Administration and its allies in Congress blocked efforts to promote U.S. energy independence. The most important of these:
- They repeatedly blocked measures to encourage conservation and greater use of renewable energy sources. The Bush Administration slashed Department of Energy programs that had promoted conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy sources. Bush and Senate conservatives killed 2007 legislation that would have required 15 percent of our electricity to come from renewable sources. The Administration and Senate conservatives continue to block the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008. [Center for American Progress, Washington Post]
- They obstructed efforts to increase fuel efficiency. Conservatives did nothing to improve fuel efficiency for cars and SUVs while they controlled Congress and the White House. Then in December 2007, the day after Bush signed Democratic legislation which modestly increases fuel efficiency standards, the administration blocked laws enacted in 18 states that would improve auto efficiency rules for a majority of Americans. [New York Times]
Other Bush-McCain energy proposals wouldn't lower gas prices, but would increase oil company profits. Drilling for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would, at most, lower the cost of a barrel of crude oil by 50 cents in 2025, a drop in the bucket compared to the $90 increase in the price of a barrel of oil during Bush's presidency. Suspending the 18-cent federal gasoline tax over the summer would, at most, cover the cost of a half-tank of gas. By a single vote, conservatives killed Senate legislation that would have ended major tax subsidies for Big Oil—a vote that John McCain skipped. No wonder, since McCain's energy plan would give away $3.8 billion dollars to the five largest American oil companies. [Associated Press, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Center for American Progress]
The Argument
The fact is, all of us are paying a “Bush premium” at the pump—we are the victims of bad policy, misplaced priorities and a misbegotten war. The top three arguments are:
For seven years, Bush's policies have utterly failed to protect our nation's energy security. The primary reason for our current high gas prices is that the Bush administration and its allies made no serious effort to end America's dependence on foreign oil. They blocked efforts to encourage conservation, improve fuel efficiency, and mandate the use of renewable energy sources.
The Bush-McCain war in Iraq caused most of the "global unrest" and unleashed the speculators that have driven up world oil prices. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz found that the Iraq war substantially increased crude oil prices, which in turn pushed up prices at the pump. Bush-McCain saber-rattling and threats of war against Iran and others raises additional fears of supply disruptions, prompting speculators to jack up prices. [MSNBC]
Skyrocketing fuel prices shouldn't surprise anyone because big oil companies wrote the Bush energy policy. The same big oil companies that recently reported windfall profits participated in Vice President Cheney's 2001 task force that wrote the Bush Administration's energy plan. Despite a lawsuit, the proceedings of this task force have remained secret to this day. But it would be hugely naïve to think that the oil companies didn't get exactly what they wanted.
Progressive Solutions
The short term solutions are: release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, crack down on speculation in oil futures, and investigate oil companies for price-gouging. Bush should release supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that now holds close to 700 million barrels to start pushing prices downward. The Bush Administration should reverse its ruling that opened up oil-futures speculation to hedge funds and other new institutional investors. And the Justice Department should begin investigating whether the big oil companies have engaged in price fixing.
The long term solution is to make America energy independent by investing in conservation, energy efficiency, and clean power. Energy conservation is the fastest method to make a major difference in oil prices—we can save millions of barrels of oil much more quickly than we can produce new oil, and the effect on prices is the same. Increasing fuel efficiency standards to an average of 32 miles per gallon would save sixteen times more oil than could be produced by new offshore drilling. [CEPR] Ultimately, the only way for our nation to become energy independent is to invest in clean power sources such as wind, solar energy, and geothermal energy—which will also help solve the problem of global warming.
