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Sierra Club Energy Forum Paul Arms Los Angeles: Thank you for taking on the important issue of our energy strategy in "Beyond Fossil Fuels." I believe Americans want a real energy policy. Someone once humorously said: "There are a lot of folks who can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in the USA. Well, there's a very simple answer. Nobody bothered to check the oil! We just didn't know we were getting low. The reason for this is purely geographical. All the oil is in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Wyoming, etc. All the dipsticks are in the White House." Yet humor can not excuse the poor future our policy makers are handing future generations of Americans. We never seem to get an honest national energy policy--just various levels of oil or coal extraction policies. However, it is important to note that Texas and Oklahoma not only have a lot of oil, they also have a lot of wind. Few if any of the wind generators are connected to the grid. Furthermore, in the sunny states of Florida, California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona there is very little use of solar, whether it be Photovoltaic Panels or Solar Sterling Concentrators. Clearly we have no national energy policy. Instead of a national energy policy we have a national extraction policy. What can we expect when our government leaders practice public policy for political and personal profit? This is especially true with our current administration, which is so closely tied to both the oil and coal extraction industries. It is easy to point to a map and say "bomb" in order to protect an oil supply in far away regions. It is easy to point to American wilderness and say "drill." What is hard for our government leaders, who have made a life out of thinking in quarterly business cycles, is to think in terms of future generations of Americans. Since the extraction industry helped put George W. Bush in office, that explains why we have a short-term extraction policy instead of a long-term energy policy. It is great that you did an article and explained that there are other options. Thank you. Paras D. Bhayani, Homewood, IL: The article, “Beyond Fossil Fuels, Power Lunch,” by Marilyn Berlin Snell clearly portrayed the close ties that Bush and company have with the energy industry. It shows how in Bush’s mind, “Acting boldly and swiftly to end America’s energy crisis,” is synonymous with, “Acting boldly and swiftly to destroy the Earth.” If the Bush Administration continues to behave in such an ecologically irresponsible manner, it is our duty as Americans to ensure that he feels the pressure of the electorate. The environment has been called the Achilles heel of the Bush Administration. Our high-flying president has proclaimed on many occasions, “Stop polluting my record!” Well, we would; if he’d stop polluting our earth. Nothing should outrage Americans more than a president who plunders the nation’s natural resources, and caters to ecologically destructive industries. After all, these are our natural resources. So are we really going to let these two oilmen sell our air, water, and wildlife refuges in order to preserve the short term profitability of the oil industry? I trust that your answer is an emphatic no. Choose another topic Energy Forum main | Make your own energy movie | More in Sierra magazine Up to Top