America is over a barrel

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I bought my first car, a 1962 Falcon, in 1976. That car and I had a lot of adventures, but the best part was that in 1976, gas only cost 60 cents a gallon. This month, we’re paying $4.00 at the pump, six times the price in 1976.

The high price of gas threatens our economic recovery just as Oregonians are starting to get back on their feet. Families are paying $50 and $60 to fill up, and America is spending over a billion dollars a day on foreign oil which creates a grave national security challenge. Some of the dollars that we send overseas for oil end up in the hands of our terrorist enemies — making this the first modern American war in which we are funding both sides.

There are those who say we can simply drill more, to produce more domestic energy. But that strategy would accelerate the depletion of American reserves and make America more dependent on foreign oil in the long-run. The United States only has 3 percent of the world’s reserves, but consumes 25 percent of the world’s annual oil production.

Further, whether we pay 60 cents or $4 per gallon, the gasoline we use is a serious threat to our planet. Scientists estimate that any carbon level over 350 parts per million will create serious global warming problems. We hit that level 25 years ago and the results are obvious: retreating glaciers, melting icecaps, higher ocean acidity, dying coral reefs and more powerful storms.

So what can we do about our dysfunctional energy policy and the resulting economic damage, national security risks and carbon pollution? We must make a serious change in our energy policies to end our addiction to foreign oil. The good news is we don’t need yet-to-be-invented technology; we just need strong political will.

First, we must drastically reduce the amount of oil we consume in cars. We burn a third of all oil in cars. Converting half our cars to electric drives over two decades would reduce oil consumption by three million barrels per day. To jumpstart this conversion, I have introduced bipartisan legislation with Sen. Lamar Alexander from Tennessee that would create deployment communities, promote battery research and development, and encourage fleet purchases from public and private entities.

Second, we must create better freight efficiency. Here in Oregon, we have Cascade Sierra Solutions, which is working to increase the efficiency of trucks through better airfoils, automatic tire inflation and generators that reduce engine idling. We can also shift more freight from trucks to more efficient barges and trains. As the railroads like to remind us, a train can move a ton of freight over 400 miles on a single gallon of fuel.

Between solar, wind, wave and biomass, Oregon is already a global leader in the field of clean energy research and development. We must invest in developing clean, renewable power across America — creating red, white and blue clean energy jobs along the way.

A final element of this plan is coherent implementation. We cannot afford to let the back and forth of political cycles deter us from our path, nor can we allow the ups and downs of oil prices to change our course. I have proposed a National Energy Security Council in the White House to keep this plan on track as administrations come and go. This council would ensure that we decrease our oil consumption by 8 million barrels per day over the next two decades.

I look back fondly on my old Ford Falcon and gas at 60 cents a gallon, but I know that world is not returning. Emerging markets like China are increasing the demand for oil and driving up the price.

We have a choice between a weak, oil-addicted America or a strong, oil-independent America; between sending a billion dollars a day overseas or using those dollars on American-made clean energy jobs; between carbon-polluting fossil fuels and clean, renewable technologies. Let's choose the path that creates a stronger America, a more robust economy, and a healthier environment.

Let's end our addiction to imported oil.

Click here to download Sen. Jeff Merkley's plan for oil independence and read more about this issue.