ENERGY POLICY

WHERE I LIVE, ultra gasoline hovers above $2.10 a gallon and regular about a buck-eighty-five—a bargain from what gas prices were just six months ago. In parts outside the Northeast, gasoline prices have dropped even lower, and many of us are celebrating by getting back behind the wheel and hitting the road.

As gasoline prices have dropped in the past few months, reports indicate that use of public transportation, which had been up especially in urban areas during the height of gas prices, has begun leveling off to pre-recession usage. Moreover, sales of SUVs and other gas guzzlers are on the rise again, and have begun surpassing the sale of smaller cars and hybrids, which had been hot sellers. Call it human nature. Also call it shortsighted.

Despite the high profile that energy has taken of late, our interest in energy policy often begins and ends at the gas pump—or when the oil delivery truck pulls up to our home. We complain about higher fuel costs, but turn the page or change the channel when talk of a comprehensive national energy policy comes up.

Concerned about our energy needs, in December ASME, along with IEEE-USA, issued a proclamation calling on Barack Obama and Congress to establish energy policy goals to protect U.S. economic and national security and to guide the development of energy technology.

The decree urged the new president and Congress to focus on seven goals that would maximize the use of electric power generated by sustainable, economic, and environmentally acceptable technologies; modernize the nation’s electric transmission grid; maximize electrification of the transportation sector; establish visible and sustainable energy efficiency and conservation goals; use raw materials to manufacture liquid and gaseous fuels; build and deploy generating capacity to supply reliable electric service; and provide a long-term commitment to energy research, development, and demonstration.

The proclamation, which received the support of ASME’s influential Industry Advisory Board, was based on six principles:

—That an adequate, sustainable, and economically viable supply of energy is essential for the economic growth and national security of the United States.

—That the country develop and maintain a balanced portfolio of energy sources, including coal, petroleum, nuclear, natural gas, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and hydroelectric power.

—That long-term federal investment is necessary for accelerating the implementation of best available energy technologies and development of new technologies for transportation, heating, cooling, and electric power generation.

—That the U.S. strongly encourage energy conservation and increase the efficient use of all energy resources.

—That the country’s dependence on petroleum be reduced by increasing supplies of non-petroleum fuels, increasing automotive fuel efficiencies, and maximizing electrification of the transportation sector.

—That carbon mitigation and adaptation be part of a comprehensive energy strategy.

ASME and other engineering societies can only direct the necessary dialogue and suggest policy initiatives. Ultimately, the seriousness of the energy challenge merits aggressive individual action. It is up to you and me to begin making lifestyle changes to help preserve our energy resources.

—John G. Falcioni, Editor-in-Chief
He can be reached by e-mail at falcionij@asme.org