Getting it together

Monday, May 10, 2010 | 2:06 a.m.

In the aftermath of the devastating explosion on the Louisiana oil rig that killed 11 workers and created a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a considerable amount of attention has rightfully centered on the lack of sensible regulation of the oil industry. For example, U.S. regulators — unlike in the oil-producing countries of Norway and Brazil — don’t require a fail-safe type of device that can shut off a well when other measures don’t work to stop a catastrophic event. And it was clear from reading a story in The Wall Street Journal on Friday, about the Interior Department agency tasked with oversight of drilling, that the Minerals Management Service has failed in its job. Indeed, many of its policing powers have been left to the very industry it is supposed to regulate.

The oil spill isn’t simply more proof about the need for better regulation, though. The tragedy has spotlighted yet again the fact that our country for decades has failed to devise a coherent energy policy. We rely too heavily on oil for our vehicles and too much on coal for generating electricity.

It’s not realistic to shut down all drilling along this country’s coasts because of possible dangers posed to the environment, fishing industries and tourism. If we were to put a moratorium on drilling along the U.S. coasts, that would only serve in the short term to empower foreign oil-producing nations, giving them even greater leverage over the United States.

Our nation has to rethink its overall national energy strategy so we’re less dependent on oil for our energy needs. There are a number of emerging technologies, whether it’s hybrid cars or natural gas vehicles. Indeed, if the price of oil remains high, expect to see even more of these alternative-fuel vehicles gain strength in the market.

One of the big reasons why the U.S. wasn’t poised in recent years to take advantage of alternative energy can be tied to the policies of the administration of George W. Bush, a former oilman. That administration didn’t care a whit about renewable energy. Even something as basic as conservation, through requiring more fuel-efficient vehicles, was ridiculed by the right wing that had gripped the Republican Party at the turn of this century.

Nobody at the time better embodied this lack of level-headed thinking than Vice President Dick Cheney, who headed up the White House energy task force. Cheney was a friend to polluting energy companies and hostile to lending a helping hand to renewable energy such as solar and wind. The “drill, baby, drill” mantra that emanated from the Republican National Convention in 2008 came to symbolize the GOP’s energy views, especially with the vice presidential nominee being Sarah Palin, the drill-happy governor from Alaska.

President Barack Obama is crafting a much more reasonable, coherent energy policy, one that acknowledges the dangers that carbon emissions create for our environment. It’s about more than the environment, however; it also is about national security and making sure we’re not dependent on other countries for so much of our energy needs. What is abundantly clear from the past few weeks is that “drill, baby, drill” won’t cut it anymore as our national energy policy.