Posted: 08/06/2004
Kerry Endorses Expensive, Subsizdized Energy Plan
NCPA Expert Suggests Increased Domestic Production Better Option
August 6, 2004 – Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry announced today that as president he would reduce American reliance on foreign oil with a $20 billion fund to finance research and development of alternative and renewable fuels. Energy policy experts from the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) argued that if Senator Kerry really wants to improve the U.S.’s energy reliability and security, then increased domestic production and removing barriers to the construction of new pipelines, transmission lines and oil and gas refineries, not expensive and unreliable renewable energy is the answer.
“Renewable energy sources, like ethanol, solar and wind power are more expensive than regular fuel and require significant taxpayer subsidies,” said NCPA Senior Fellow H. Sterling Burnett. “Even so, they don’t deliver the promised environmental benefits, and won’t substantially reduce U.S. reliance on imported energy in the near future.”
Burnett suggested that a better answer to our nation’s energy needs would be for Congress to enact measures to increase domestic production, such as opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for exploration. According to estimates from the Energy Information Agency:
- ANWR contains between 6 and 16 billion barrels of oil. By comparison, the U.S. imports approximately 7 million barrels of oil per day.
- If only 6 billion barrels of oil were recovered in ANWR, this would be sufficient to replace Iraqi oil for 50 years.
“Senator John Kerry not only led a 2002 filibuster that scuttled any chance of approval of ANWR exploration, but he reveled in his role as an anti-ANWR crusader,” noted Burnett.
Burnett also noted that contrary to environmentalists’ claims, oil production and environmental quality are not incompatible. For example, caribou herds have expanded in and around Prudhoe Bay and other wildlife have flourished as well, apparently unaffected by the oil and gas development in the area. Further, due to advances is technology, ANWR could fare even better.