Remember the last time you spent $60? It may very well have been on a tank of gas. As our involvement ratchets up in the Middle East again, our gas prices aren’t far behind. This is yet one more reminder that our nation has a dangerous addiction to oil.
With gas on its way to $4 a gallon, it’s time to address this issue. President Barack Obama set the ambitious goal on Wednesday of reducing our oil imports by a third come 2025.
It sounds good in a speech, but it will be much harder to put into practice.
The chief concern of voters will be simple — will it cost me more to fill my tank with gas? If we try to cut oil imports, the logical answer would be yes. But the president wants to make sure that won’t happen.
He has encouraged offshore drilling to supplement the decline in foreign oil as we find energy alternatives that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
The Interior Department said earlier this week that many of the leases and permits for offshore drilling are not being used.
More than two-thirds of leases in the Gulf of Mexico and half of permits on federal land are being unused. Should we choose to develop these resources, our foreign oil dependence will start to wane.
But these lands will not supply us with energy forever. While we are drilling offshore, we need to research and develop new and more efficient sources of energy.
Adopting public policies that promote clean energy will help as well. What about tax credits for electric cars or solar panels for homes?
Encouraging corporations — especially those that leave large carbon footprints — to take the lead is important. Because they have so many jobs and so much money, corporations have the ability to dominate the alternative energy dialogue.
A cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax may have the right intentions, but both are incredibly controversial. If we choose to step into the future of energy, we must do so do so in a bipartisan manner.
We must invest in renewable energies like solar, wind and hydro powers.
We are lucky enough to attend a school that does just that.
ASU opened the first school of sustainability in the country. Solar panels mounted on top of buildings from parking structures to Hayden Library provide power to the campus. Several of the new degrees and minors the University is adding incorporate sustainability into their curriculum.
Even if you are not studying in sustainability, it is hard not to pick up sustainable habits at ASU. There are recycling bins every five feet and some reminding you to recycle every 15 feet. (Please recycle your State Press!)
Once you graduate, take these sustainable habits with you and help the nation practice sustainable habits so we may get the nation on track to reach the president’s goal.
