Oil and Climate- a rebuttal to the State of the Union

Dear Mr. President-

I was struck once again by the differences between our assumptions and thought processes as you discussed your hopes and plans this evening. Ostensibly, your speech signaled your recruitment to the ranks of the "greens".  You even went so far as to mention global climate change without mockery! Alternative fuels are to be vastly expanced and the use of gasoline reduced by 20% by the year 2017. All is solved, and all previous rancor must be swiftly forgiven and forgotten.  But my perspective differs, and I perceive these pitches as devoid of true understanding of the dangers and opportunities which face us as a nation, and more importantly, as a planet.

Mr. Bush, you mentioned several times your fears that foreign nations will use oil as a weapon against us, by buffeting our economy with higher prices. You present alternative fuels as a means of protecting our way of life, including the cheapness of our transportation. Then you explain that you will achieve improved fuel economy by setting targets for higher mileage in our car fleets.  Your effort to mandate fuel economy will be undercut by your effort to protect U.S. manufacturers of SUVs and larger cars. I understand that your concept of mandated mileage will not be a fleet average system, which would favor companies such as Honda, the world leader of fuel economy. No, you visualize a tiered system in which individual vehicles will be compared to their peers, but in which there will be no minimum standards. You have had six years to enact meaningful fuel economy standards, and have consistently declined the honor of leading. One year ago you declared that we are addicted to foreign oil and no action followed. No, we are addicted to oil. We buy it no matter where it comes from.

Sir, you seem to still lack appetite for true sacrifice despite your bold sounding words. If you really want fuel economy and a leap in the use of alternative fuels, slap a carbon tax on gasoline. Fuel economy would instantly (not in 2017) become attractive, as would ethanol blends and biodiesel. Money talks! Instead of risking economic damage from oil embargoes, we would get OPEC on the run by using less of their oil. Instead of continuing our slide into national bankruptcy, we would put a slice of the billions spent on gasoline into the empty federal coffers. But I believe that proposal,  which would also actually accomplish something in terms of the War on Climate Change,  is unacceptable to you and your oil industry friends.  The future of our economy does not depend on cheap oil. The future of our planet does indeed depend on a shift away from fossil fuel. Cheapness is not the solution, it is part of the problem!  "Nothing important is ever achieved without sacrifice". It was your friend Condi Rice who said that recently, referring to the Iraq War.  I think the phrase is even more applicable to our energy, finance, and climate challenges.  

The deepest assumption behind your words, Mr. President, is that the struggle is between us and the "Other". It is not. The struggle is between us and ourselves, and the survival of the human race on Planet Earth is the prize if we get it right. Do not worry about the Islamics destroying us, we are perfectly capable of destroying ourselves without their help. Do not bother doubling the number of Louisiana salt caverns pumped full of crude oil. The more of the stuff we burn, the more quickly we are hoisted on our own petards. Do not bother listing dates a decade distant, we needed to act in 1988 when James Hansen declared that global warming was a deadly threat. Do not bother setting goals for us without explaining the challenges we face and the deadly price if we fail. We will find our own way if you show us the promised land. Instead you are handing out checks to the corn farmers for ethanol even though it burns almost as much oil making ethanol as it saves. I understand that we are not all policy wonks, and you are a politician looking for friends. But really, your lack of interest in the details of science and environmental planning is disturbing. Lead by example!  Dig beneath the sound bites and photo opps and there is reason to doubt your committment to the environment.  I will not list all your offenses in this area over the past six years. When your Vice President at the beginning of your first term famously declared that energy conservation might be a nice lifestyle choice but had nothing to do with energy independence and brought in industry leaders to set national policies while exiling environmental leaders, you could have demurred yet you remained silent.  Why should we trust in your committment now?

I am left counting the years that remain in your administration. There are two. When these years are behind us, it will mark twenty years since James Hansen blew his trumpet and declared that global warming is real. Perhaps on this important milestone we can take real action on climate change while also coming to terms with our woeful finances, our troubled relationships with other nations, and our polarized politics.  Actually I might settle for just the first one.