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Tag Archives: fuel

Four Simple Steps Towards Energy Independence

It all seems so simple.  All we need to do as a nation is to ween ourselves from over-seas oil.  Here are four simple steps, go tell your elected officials to start getting serious. 

1) Prominently increasing North American energy supplies, thereby increasing energy security (technologies include frontier hydrocarbon technologies such as gasification, including hydrogen production; gas-to-liquids; tar sands, oil sands, and other heavy crude extractive and processing technologies)

2) Providing additional nonhydrocarbon supply options (ethanol1, biodiesel, wind and solar)

3) Moving towards globalizing a regionally limited natural-gas market to reduce risks associated with supply and price (LNG)

4) Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (new emission-free supplies such as nuclear, wind, solar; more efficient end-use technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells and advanced technology vehicles; reduced emissions from hydrocarbon usage such as coal gasification, cogeneration and deployment of CO2 capture and sequestration technologies and strategies).

If I could speak to the President

If Bush decided that we needed to become energy independent, what policy initiatives should we have? This is what I would tell him (assuming he could stay awake):

  • Finance the fastest practical development and pilot test programs for fuel cell technology
  • Block the issuance of permits for any coal-burning powerplants without plans for full carbon sequestration.
  • Require most new vehicles to be PHEV’s.
  • Promote or require plug-in facilities for new or renovated construction.
  • Net metering or other feed-in law is required for the grid.
  • Get rid of all preferences and mandates for alternative fuels; incentives should be created by taxes on oil, coal and natural gas.