Foster's.com - Energy Independence - The New American Imperative

Op-Ed

Foster's.com - Energy Independence - The New American Imperative

By Sen. Susan M. Collins

Independence Day is both a day of noisy celebrations and a day of quiet gratitude. Amid the fun of families, friends, and communities coming together for America's birthday party, we give thanks to the founding generation of Americans who risked all to overcome tyranny so that they, and all the generations to come, could live in freedom.

We are mindful that freedom was not won in a day. It took those patriots of long ago six long years of hardship, sacrifice, and courage to gain their independence. It has taken the continuing commitment of Americans ever since to keep it.

We Americans of today are confronted by a challenge to our independence that is unprecedented in nature. The threat comes not from a hostile foreign power bent on military conquest and political dominance, but from our own reliance on foreign oil. We have known since the first oil embargo 35 years ago that this dependence is unwise. We have seen in recent years, and especially in recent months, that it is a dire threat to the economic security of our nation and the well-being of our people. Facing up to this threat by achieving energy independence is the new American imperative.

The sharp spikes in the price of oil are causing great harm to our economy, from the major industries that drive our nation forward to the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities. As I travel throughout Maine, I hear time and again that skyrocketing energy prices is causing tremendous hardship for Maine's families. With summer barely under way, Mainers are looking ahead to next winter and are deeply worried about how they can afford to heat their homes. For far too many, keeping warm will not be merely an expensive inconvenience, but a crushing hardship. And for some, an impossibility.

Worse still, we are impoverishing ourselves in order to enrich regimes in the Middle East and in Venezuela that are openly hostile to America and to our ideals of democracy and liberty.

First and foremost, we must alleviate the hardship to our working families, elderly and disadvantaged citizens. Last week, as co-chairman of the Senate Northeast-Midwest Coalition, I was joined by 44 other senators in calling on the President to release $120 million in remaining funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. In addition to helping to pay energy bills for low-income families and the elderly, LIHEAP helps to fund energy crisis intervention programs, low-cost residential weatherization and other energy-related home repairs. In addition, I am pushing for significant increases in funding for weatherization efforts, with AmeriCorps volunteers assisting with these vital projects to winterize as many homes as possible.

But conservation and financial assistance, while absolutely necessary, do not resolve the fundamental problem our country faces.

We will achieve true independence only by eliminating our reliance on Middle East oil through developing new energy sources. While I believe today's improved technology enables us to open up new areas in the Gulf of Mexico for oil production safely and responsibly, we must also invest in the clean, renewable energy of the future.

Maine is well positioned to help lead our nation into this future. Our "Three Ws" ¿ wind, water, and wood ¿ are three of the most promising renewable resources. The potential of wind energy — both land-based and ocean-sited — as well as the power of our tides and ocean currents and advancements in clean-burning wood and wood-pellet stoves hold the promise of a new era in affordable and responsible energy production.

Tapping this potential will require investment and ingenuity. As we remember July 4, 1776, we should also remember July 20, 1969. It was on that day that Apollo 11 landed on the Moon and our American flag was planted in the heavens. The challenge we had taken on 12 years earlier with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik was met with a national commitment to science and technology.

A new commitment to a secure and affordable energy future is essential. Just as we answered Sputnik with 12 years of concerted national effort, we now must set a national goal of achieving energy independence by the year 2020. Every step toward it is a step toward greater independence. It is the new American imperative.

The American spirit was born on a July day in 1776. Our nation's capacity to achieve great things was evident on a July day in 1969. With that same spirit, we can meet the challenge of achieving energy independence.

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