U.S. must slow use of foreign oil

Monday, December 30, 2002

America's energy policy is basically unsound because it relies too heavily on foreign oil. Conservation measures including reasonable mileage standards that reflect the improved technology available to the automotive industry is the best way to address the problems. Better use of renewable fuel sources could aid the United States agricultural sector and help end over reliance on foreign oil.

The recent political problems in Venezuela which resulted in an oil stoppage have focused attention on the imbalances in the fuel policy of the United States. Venezuela is a member of the international oil cartel, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Nearly half of U.S. oil imports come from OPEC nations, including Venezuela. A little less than half of OPEC imports come from the Persian Gulf, where the United States is nearing war with Iraq. That raises questions about the reliability of that source of oil.

It makes sense for this country to reduce its reliance on foreign oil, which accounts for more than 60 percent of what we use. The best way is to cut consumption, and the best way for that to happen is for the U.S. government to set reasonable, and better, mileage targets for vehicles driven in the United States.

The technology is available. A recent article in the MIT Technology Review magazine details minor changes in traditional gasoline engines that would nearly double the average mileage in sports utility vehicles to more than 40 miles per gallon without any reduction in engine power. The article estimates that the changes would add as much as $1,000 to the price of an average SUV - or somewhere around 5 percent of a low-cost SUV.

In addition to better technology, renewable energy sources are available. American agricultural products, such as corn and soybeans, can be made into fuel but it will take government encouragement, through subsidies or pricing strategies such as tax breaks, to get more of those products to a wider market. One thing the government could easily do is to insist that all government vehicles run on biofuel or biofuel mixtures. A few state governments have done that.

Even as technology and renewable fuel sources are developed, important research must continue into other alternative systems, including electric-gasoline hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells. Practical and affordable alternative systems that will maintain the power that Americans want may still be a few years away.

The government has to give automakers an incentive for using available technology and a penalty for not increasing overall fuel mileage. Yet instead of this, the Bush administration this year signaled that declining fuel mileage was all right by largely replacing the standards for increasing mileage that have been in place for a quarter century. That will lead to even more dependence on foreign oil and a search for more oil in previously untapped places in this country.

No matter how Venezuela's situation is resolved, it is another example of why the United States needs to make conservation and use of better technology a serious part of its energy plan.