Toward Energy Independence

My good blogging friend, Chris, from Panhandle Perspectives, has been honored with a published essay on energy independence at the homepage of U.S. Senator John Cornyn, "Toward Energy Independence":

The battlefield is one of ideas and it is the equivalent of war. It will require an effort similar to what it took to put a man on the moon. We can overcome our dependence on foreign sources of oil. We can become energy independent if we allow the American spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation and industry to work without the burden of unnecessary government regulation or intervention.

The role of government is to insure that a balance is struck between the competing needs of energy, environmental health and the well-being of its people. It should provide stimulus for the entrepreneurial spirit that has made this nation great. It should create opportunity for new ideas to blossom in an atmosphere of encouragement in the face of uncertainty. It should not penalize those who have paved the way and benefitted from their years of hard work and risk-taking.

We must attack the war for Energy Independence on multiple fronts. Those fronts are 1) expanded safe production of existing known resources, 2) good stewardship of those resources through conservation and efficient use and 3) innovation through the development of new technologies and the implementation of those technologies in a practical manner.

We must develop infrastructure to meet the needs of new and developing technologies while remaining ever vigilant to the possible need to change course when those technologies result in unintended consequences. Without the means to distribute new energy sources to the end-user in an efficient manner, our efforts will be in vain.

Our national security is at stake in the war for Energy Independence. Our purchases of oil from countries that consider us their enemy only increase our vulnerability to their whims. Our inability to control our energy destiny places our economy at risk to blackmail from those countries that control the source of our needs. We must cut the strings that bind us to foreign energy sources or we have only ourselves to blame if they choose to strangle us with those very strings.

Read the whole thing at Senator Cornyn's page.

Senator Cornyn's leading the push for energy independence in Congress. He was quoted in the New York Times on Wednesday, speaking about the need for new domestic drilling initiatives:

“When I was in Texas this last week, this is the No. 1 issue on people’s minds,” Senator John Cornyn said. “When people fill up their trucks or S.U.V.’s in Texas and pay over $100 to fill up their vehicle, it gets their attention, and they are looking to Congress to frankly get out of the way and allow America to develop more of its own natural resources as we take other measures to conserve energy and become more efficient.”

Be sure to visit Panhandle Perspectives for more commentary and analysis. Chris has been a great influence on my development. We are in communication involving matters of faith and goodness, and I thank him for his readership and support.