Originally printed in The Charlotte Observer on August 1st.
Last week I joined 6 fellow NC citizens in DC to convince our senators to pass a comprehensive energy bill. As you can probably guess, those who support it welcomed us, and those who don’t listened with glazed expressions.
Our group of six represented not only a wide geographical area of our state, but also diverse perspectives. We were a retired veteran who served in the Iraq War, two executives of a large solar finance/installation company, two directors from the NC Wildlife Federation, and me: a small manufacturing business owner. My particular outlook comes from operating a local manufacturing business, TS Designs. NAFTA taught us the importance of local sourcing, which is why over 90% of our products are made in the US, 70% right here in NC. For the same reason, we also understand the importance of taking control of our own energy sources, which is why we have been making biodiesel from local waste vegetable oil for over 7 years, and installed two solar arrays and a wind turbine at our facility.
Richard Nixon was the first president to call for the reduction of our dependence on foreign oil, and every president since has echoed his sentiment. Even so, we now import well over 50% of the oil we consume here in the states. That’s over $1 billion per day sent to countries controlled by unstable, hostile regimes that don’t share our values and are at odds with our interests. While in DC, I had the chilling experience of hearing from a retired general and an Iraq War veteran who experienced American soldiers killed by weapons likely funded by US dollars.
Each day the senate delays on a comprehensive energy plan that focuses on non-petroleum-based fuels, our enemies are enriched. Now is the time for bold action. Many say the solution is to drill here. For the moment, ignore any argument you’ve heard about climate change and environmental damage and simply consider this: we consume 25% of the world’s oil, but at most have access to only 2% of the world’s remaining supply. Economics 101 testifies that as we drain that supply, prices will only continue to increase unless we lower demand.
The best way to enact change in a capitalist society is by voting with your dollar. But there are simply no currently viable alternatives to petroleum-based fuels on the market to vote for, and corporations only have one responsibility: to maximize value for their shareholders, not to look out for the long-term welfare of the American People.
No matter how involved you believe the government should be in our lives, most people agree on one thing: the government is responsible for defending Americans from enemies, both foreign and domestic. Our demand for foreign oil is a direct security threat to our country. We need Congress to lay the groundwork for a sustainable energy future for America and let the market take over from there.
by Eric Henry and Eric Michel