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Your turn: Congress, act now on oil issues
St. Cloud Times | WWW.SCTIMES.COM
By Kelly Scanlan, Minnesota Natural Legacy Campaign
April 12, 2007
The American economy is an amazing thing. It has grown and diversified at an astonishing rate.
This growth has created new products and raised the standard of living for millions of people worldwide.
But for our economy to keep growing, we need a steady and stable supply of energy. The prosperity and progress we have worked so hard to achieve could be ruined if we do not develop a solid plan for our nation's energy security.
Generally, when someone refers to energy, there is a good chance they are talking about oil.
Despite necessity and convenience, oil carries serious risks. We depend on unstable regions, such as the Middle East, to continue selling us oil. If OPEC raises the price of oil, we could be hit with high inflation and energy shortages.
In addition to the economic pitfalls, using too much oil threatens the environment. Burning oil puts carbon dioxide, the most destructive greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, causing global warming.
Scientists warn if we allow this to continue, extreme weather conditions such as long droughts, rising sea levels and stronger hurricanes will become more common.
What we can do
The energy situation may seem dire, but there are ways to ensure future energy and economic stability while taking steps to protect the Earth against climate change.
If Congress wants to address these problems, the best thing it can do is pass legislation that cuts the carbon pollution from burning oil and frees the market to pick the best way to do it.
This system would encourage businesses to innovate and create economic opportunities, while making us less dependent on foreign oil.
Under this new cap, companies would be rewarded for shifting away from fuels such as oil, which gives off high levels of greenhouse gases, to cleaner energy sources including wind power, biodiesel and ethanol.
Power producers will be encouraged to run more efficient facilities, which will lower electricity prices. An increased demand for energy efficiency would spur businesses to cater to the new market by developing new, energy-efficient products, creating new manufacturing jobs in Minnesota and nationwide.
For Minnesota farmers, this also would be an economic boon. Crops such as corn and soybeans could be used to produce ethanol and biodiesel. Minnesota farmers are national leaders in corn and soybean production, with millions in annual sales.
With a new market in place, that number would only grow as Minnesota farmers meet the increased demand for corn, soybeans and other crops needed to create clean fuels.
When businesses use less oil, we will not have to send billions of dollars to unstable oil-producing areas. This would keep resources here, where they could fuel our economy.
Time to act
If we want these new economic opportunities to be a reality, Washington needs to take action now.
Every day we sit on the sidelines, foreign companies are taking the lead in developing cleaner fuels and energy-efficient technologies. We know we need to protect and strengthen our country, environment and economy from growing threats. Making America energy independent will give us the chance to do all three.
The only question is how long will Congress wait to give us the chance to get there?
This is the opinion of Kelly Scanlan, state coordinator of the Minnesota Natural Legacy Campaign.