Oct 15, 2008 - 04:05:22 CDT
Filling the tank doesn't hurt quite so much lately. The price of gasoline has dropped below $3 per gallon, after passing the $4 per gallon mark earlier this year. The price has backed off, and so has the edge in people's anger at gas retailers and oil companies.People worried about gas prices would be breathing a sigh of relief if the national economy wasn't in the tank along with retirement programs.
That $4-per-gallon gas had people talking about energy independence for the the United States. In North Dakota, it drove a discussion about building at least one oil refinery. It gave gravity to programs on ethanol, biodiesel, wind and hydrogen as fuel and power. Married with a rise in interest in the Bakken formation in western North Dakota, it pushed efforts to expand oil and gas pipelines.
Relief at the pump today should not distract us from the need for evolving energy policies in the state and at the national level.
It would be wise to remember what happened in the 1970s when the United States twice faced energy crises.
In 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries established an oil embargo against the United States and its allies because they had supported Israel in a war with Syria, Egypt and Iraq. With that embargo came lines at pumps, high gas prices and a focus on the need for energy independence. A second energy crisis struck in 1979 when oil production in Iran was halted after the Iranian Revolution. Again prices were pushed up and people pontificated about the need for energy independence.
While the United States is in an oil crisis, everyone gets hot to reduce dependence on foreign oil. And each time, some improvements were made, but as things returned to normal at the pump, the desire to do something long-term, something effective, was frittered away.
Thirty years later, with short-term memories of $4 per gallon gas fading, will the United States deal frankly with the issue of energy independence? That's a question that needs asking.
The answer should be that we are going to act with discipline, common sense and intelligence to achieve energy independence. The answer should be that we are going to hold candidates for Congress and the presidency accountable for their positions on energy and energy independence. We should not forget $4 per gallon gasoline or topping off our tanks at $50, $75 and $100.
How many chances do we get to do the right thing? And who pays for doing the wrong thing?
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