Benjamin Franklin once said that death and taxes are the only things certain. For a time this summer, it appeared that rising gas prices could be added to the list. Although autumn has brought some relief at the pump, there can be little doubt that the energy challenges facing our nation remain.
The United States currently imports around 60 percent of its oil from foreign countries. With demand for oil increasing in rising powers such as China and India, refining capacities are at their limits and global supplies are being squeezed. Environmentally, a new political consensus has emerged that recognizes not only the threat posed by climate change, but the need to develop alternative sources of fuel.
In this edition of the Forum, we take a look at those challenges and this new consensus. We center our coverage on the comprehensive plan introduced by Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander, who believes America should create a 21st century equivalent of the Manhattan Project in pursuit of clean energy.
This edition also features a “Memo to the President-Elect” on energy from two scholars at the Brookings Institution, and an insightful essay by David Kreutzer with the Heritage Foundation on what people pay for power everyday.
In addition, Michigan Congressman Vern Ehlers shares his thoughts on what he considers the most precious resource of all, while the leaders of the petroleum, electrical, and nuclear sectors discuss what their respective industries are doing to meet the energy challenges we face.
With every challenge comes opportunity. At a time when the American people are looking for solutions to the nation’s most pressing problems, energy is an issue that provides Republicans with an opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.
Solutions begin with ideas, and it is our hope that, in this edition, we have highlighted some that will merit further debate and discussion down the road.
Louis M. Zickar
Editor
Ripon Forum
editor@riponsociety.org