Energy Fix-It Plan

ENERGY FIX-IT PLAN

Here is a five part plan that provides affordable transportation fuels for the first half of the 21st Century, while positioning the nation’s transportation infrastructure for mid-century transformation and a long term future of sustained affordable transportation.  The sooner we adopt this plan the less reliant we are on OPEC imports or affected by geo-political instability.  These solutions are achievable before 2020, if we start now.

One:  Knowing what we know about the nation’s crude oil reserves (proven, probable and possible), set a national objective to return to 10 million barrels per day production and sustain it for at least the next two decades.  This is completely doable geo-physically with government approved access and permits and would result not only in significant economic value creation but substantial new government revenue.

Two:  Secured by unprecedented reserves of natural gas, begin transitioning this natural resource to transportation fuels to augment our domestic transportation fuel supply.  Compressed natural gas for truck fleets and over the road trucking could add the equivalent of 2 million barrels of fuel per day.  Use of natural gas to produce methanol, provided we adopted a mandate for flex fuel engines for all cars and light trucks built or sold in the U.S., just like Brazil, along with ethanol from bio-mass, could provide an additional 4 million barrels of fuel per day. New methanol and ethanol production at large scale requires significant new capital investment in production facilities: more jobs and economic value creation producing new affordable domestic fuels.

Three:  More fuel efficient vehicles, including the mix of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric battery cars, could deliver the equivalent of 2 million barrels of fuel per day demand destruction.

Four:  Working with our neighbors in Canada and Mexico under the terms of the North America Free Trade Agreement, an additional 2 million barrels of oil could be imported to the U.S. from these two friendly sources, adding to economic value creation in both countries.
This plan would stabilize U.S. transportation fuel security and prices for now and the next several decades; eliminate the wealth transfer of American dollars to OPEC countries; create literally trillions of dollars of domestic economic activity not currently forecast in the U.S. economic outlook; reduce U.S. security concerns with regard to Middle Eastern political disruption; help launch a much needed 21st century energy system overhaul; deliver on the promise of American energy independence for the rest of this century, with one additional and critical part of the plan.

Five:  Begin the transition away from the internal combustion engine for personal mobility.  By mid-century the U.S. could reduce oil consumption by 40 percent with the elimination of the ICE for cars and light trucks, replaced by a combination of battery, hydrogen fuel cell and mass transit transportation alternatives.  Critics of the alternatives may bitterly oppose, demean or delay them.  Ultimately however there is no long term future for a mechanical device from the 19th century that uses energy at an efficiency rate of 20 percent.  We can and must do this eventually.

What’s On Your Mind?

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