What Would You Pay for Energy Independence?

What Cost?

What cost would be worth paying for energy independence?

$54.4 billion?  The amount committed to the war in Iraq in the first defense supplemental passed for that purpose in April, 2003.

$189.4 billion?  The amount committed to continue to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the most recent defense supplemental, passed by the Senate in a 90-3 vote this last December.

$474 billion? The amount estimated to have been spent on the Iraq war by December, 2008.

$1.6 trillion? The amount estimated by the Congressional Budget Office that the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns will cost by 2017.

If the will existed to foment change - obviously the money is there. 

The question is: do we have the will to spend it doing the right thing?

 

What Benefit?

Let us imagine that energy independence would cost $300 billion.  What are the benefits?

Freedom	A plug in the funnel that sends millions of American petrodollars every day to Venezuela, Russia, Saudi Arabia and all manner of other questionable suppliers, enriching them Freedom from the wiles of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and whomever willl follow his example Freedom from the wiles of Iran's mullahcracy Freedom from the wiles of Vladimir Putin and Russian power politics Freedom from the trevails of the Middle East Freedom from the need to compete with growing populations in India and China who also seek limited energy resources
A new energy supply chain	If powered by coal this new supply chain would send millions of American petrodollars to the mid-west instead of the Middle East and one which if powered by hydrogen through wind and solar generators would spend those dollars evenly throughout the United States   Massive domestic and foreign investment inside the US - the US remains the economic engine of the world (as long as we don't squander it on expensive energy dependence!) - if a "market signal" is created that announces a certain end to oil imports spread over reasonable time, investors will pour billions of dollars into the US economy to build the infrastructure for the new, non-petroleum economy   Cheaper gasoline - coal liquefaction can now produce oil at a cost of $40/barrel; petroleum hovers now around $100/barrel
Greater global tranquility	When the US military is bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, competing or captive nations such as Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela and North Korea feel greater freedom to challenge American interests on a global stage
A cleaner environment	Maybe: a clean environment and an end to global climate change - only a market signal is necessary to foment a conversion of the petroleum economy to one which is coal based - the government need not spend a dime, but if the will is in place, $300 billion is probably enough money to convert the U.S. to a hydrogen based transportation infrastructure powered by wind and solar, and it would be a fraction of what we pay now to stabilize petroleum supplies from the Middle East