Mercifully, the presidential debates have ended. Although the candidates touched on important—and sometimes unsavory—topics, they discussed energy policy only briefly. Energy policy’s poor showing ignores that it is integral to critical American concerns: foreign policy, national security, the economy and (I say this without hyperbole) the existence of the nation as we know it. It deserves more than short shrift.
Human life today can’t exist without an abundant, uninterrupted energy supply. America—on its best days a bold and sure leader of all nations—should be the principal innovator, architect, and engineer of a sturdy and unassailable energy future. Too many people—including many leaders—take energy for granted: flip the switch, the lights go on. The president can’t. Old assumptions don’t hold. Whether electricity comes from coal, natural gas, solar, or nuclear matters. Whether we leave the lights on, idle in traffic, or install solar panels matters. Greater implications are ignored: without electricity—no water supply, no food, no travel, no consumer goods. Indeed, no economy, no politics. No country. Energy demand is off the charts; the next president must squarely face that demand while keeping the nation safe, free, prosperous, and clean. This takes more than sound bites and policy statements.
Important points:
Oil and Natural Gas. Oil runs the economy. And natural gas is a vitally important power source, not just a “bridge fuel” placeholder until solar and wind become more useable and widely available. U.S. gas is abundant, accessible, and burns relatively cleanly in power plants. We cannot be energy-independent without it. The next president must find common ground between oil-and-gas companies, landowners, and citizens. And be smart about the scientific, social, economic, environmental, and political dynamics of petroleum exploration, production, transport, storage, and sale.
The Middle East. Countries whose democracies are feeble or non-existent determine petroleum’s global value, and the Middle East remains frightfully volatile. The next president’s energy decisions will directly affect foreign policy and our willingness—or unwillingness—to engage (economically, politically, militarily) in the Middle East to protect our interests. When Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump discuss Iraq, Iran, and ISIS, they can’t ignore energy.
Alternative Sources. The next president needs to promote, through real-world economic incentives and stakeholder buy-in, a supply-and-demand system that drives development of wind, solar, biomass and other clean fuels. Markets don’t yet support widespread, grid-scale alternative energy necessary to replace fossil fuels. The president must embrace the long game.
Jobs. Energy jobs are not the economic stalwarts of old. Innovation and technology make many energy jobs obsolete. The jobs that do exist are often fickle, too vulnerable to booms and busts. See Williston, North Dakota, once overflowing with well-paid drilling and production crews, now humbled and lonely. In the second debate, Secretary Clinton said she wants to replace coal miners’ jobs without “leaving them behind.” Where should they go?
The Grid. Our electricity grid needs substantial upgrades. It’s vulnerable to technical failures and terrorism, and our production systems need to be more efficient and secure. Major infrastructure renovation and renewal should be very high on the president’s priority list, and cybersecurity will play a major role.
Climate Change. Underscoring energy use is climate change. It’s real. Period. And people play a big role. Although it’s very possibly the game-changing issue of our times, the candidates give it “below the fold” treatment. It’s not an “environmental issue.” It’s about population growth, battles over fresh water, companies’ goodwill, consumer intelligence, financial bottom lines, infrastructure change, unrest, and much more. It’s on the scale of war and peace—one of the most influential issues of this century. President Obama got real about it. The next president needs to embrace it as a threat to our survival as real as any terrorist.
Just as Aristotle said “the energy of the mind is the essence of life,” our next president needs to embrace good energy policy as essential to America.