Sent to Senator's Smith and Wyden, as well as House Rep Blumenauer
The Honorable Senator Smith:
With the recent turnabout of the USGS in response to the Bush administration's request of a new study of the effects of drilling in the Alaskan wilderness, and Iraq's recent demonstration of their willingness to use oil exports as a weapon, I feel compelled to submit my feedback on the state of our nation's energy policy.
FACT: It is estimated that drilling in Alaska will give us six more months of oil supply, see this link for details:
FACT: Our nation's cars and trucks are stuck at 1980's fuel efficiency standards.
FACT: Our nation's reliance on imported oil is getting worse, not better.
What is your opinion of creating tough new fuel efficiency standards for automakers that take effect sooner rather than later, and giving large tax incentives to those Americans who do not own a car or use a vehicle based on hybrid gas/electric technology?
I'm truly worried about our nation's reliance on oil. If you look at projections of the depletion of world oil reserves, it's easy to see we need to take action now to transition ourself off oil completely in the long term, and to significantly reduce our use of oil in the short term. Many Americans are dismayed at our current executive branch's ties to the oil industry and grow cynical about their ability to craft a viable energy policy. Like campaign finance reform, I believe that this battle will have to be fought in the legislative branch.
We need to turn the national debate away from the question of whether or not to drill in Alaska, and towards the question of making cars, trucks and SUVs use considerably less fuel. The former issue is irrelevent as it will give us a drop to throw into the bucket of our nation's appitite for oil. The latter issue will shrink the bucket, thereby addressing the real problem.
Legislators that fight for high fuel efficiency standards (and other ways to reduce our use of oil imports) will earn my vote. Hopefully this letter will find it's way to your desk or computer screen instead of showing up as a tally in a summary report. I've tried to forumlate my ideas in a constructive manner worthy of your time and attention.
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gene merrill
registered voter