Speakout: Energy supply crucial to national security

By Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Special to the News

Following the harrowing events of Sept. 11, the president called on Congress to swiftly move legislation ensuring that the nation will be prepared to face future national security threats. Answering that call, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Minority Leader Trent Lott issued a joint statement pledging to support the president.

For the most part, Congress has honored that pledge.

However, for all of our immediate action to help New York, repair the Pentagon, and make sure that the airline industry remains up and running, we have allowed the development of a national energy plan to be put on the back burner.

Our military action will only exacerbate our nation's growing dependence on imported oil.

You do not have to be a mathematician or an energy expert to realize the statistics are astonishing.

In 1981, 315 refineries operated in the U.S. with a total capacity of 18.6 million barrels per day of crude oil and other inputs.

Today, a scant 155 refineries have a total capacity of a mere 16.5 million barrels per day.

Today, our nation imports more than a half a million barrels per day of finished motor gasoline to meet the demand.

The percentage of consumption of U.S. natural gas imports rose from 4.3 percent to almost 16 percent over the same period.

Meanwhile, U.S. natural gas reserves fell from 250 trillion cubic feet to about 167 trillion cubic feet over the last year.

The Department of Energy estimates released before Sept. 11 show that our consumption of crude oil alone will increase more than 30 percent by 2020.

The demand for natural gas is projected to grow similarly over the next decade.

Unless we can decrease our energy use or increase our domestic energy supply, the demand for energy will be met with greater levels of imports at a time of national crisis.

As a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, I can say with authority that there is no energy plan on the horizon because we continue to focus on fringe controversial issues rather than acting in the best interest of our nation's security.

Our energy needs are projected to increase with or without protracted military activities.

History has demonstrated that many oil producing nations use military action in the Middle East to their advantage, thereby making our increased dependence on foreign oil even more problematic than it already is.

The Energy Committee should focus on measures that contribute directly to the maintenance of our energy infrastructure, increase our domestic sources of production, reduce demand, and decrease our reliance on unstable sources for our domestic energy requirements.

Other important issues, such as electricity restructuring, climate change, or exploration in ANWR can and should be addressed in separate legislation during the next session of Congress.

For now though, priority must be given to issues that affect our national security.

We need to focus on an energy plan to decrease our nation's dependence on foreign oil.

Now is not the time for the United States to be at the mercy of unpredictable governments in distant lands.

The facts are solid. The problem is clear.

Without energy, we have little national security.

Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Republican, is the senior senator from Colorado.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion/article/0,1299,DRMN_38_845381,00.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 15, 2001

Answers

A member of Congress should know that this is the way the Washington manipulators operate which is deflect the attention away from the real issue and onto something of minor import. Notice how recently the concern now is will Marriott, Continental Airlines, US Air, and etc. not energy. These companies have been weak links for years and without energy all will cease to exist. To focus on energy requires some thought which Washington and the CEO's of most oil companies have little of. Most CEO's in the oil industry are not risk takers. Risk is necessary to explore for oil. It's much easier to merge and sue.

-- David Williams (DAVIDWILL@prodigy.net), October 15, 2001.