Coloradoan: – CEO Discusses Blueprint for America's Energy Future

10/1/08

National energy policies have to change if the United States is to keep up with new energy possibilities and end its dependence on foreign oil, said the president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy.

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Jones said he hopes Congress and the next president will use a new blueprint with recommendations for a better energy strategy - a blueprint that includes points on how to better promote energy efficiency and how to expand exploration and production of domestic oil and natural gas.

"Now is not the time to relegate energy to the back burner," he said during a presentation Tuesday at the Lincoln Center.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy's "Blueprint for Securing America's Energy Future" outlines more than 75 recommendations for the president and Congress to consider if the United States is to become energy independent.

"Today's high gas prices are not the problem. They are merely a symptom to a larger problem," Jones said of the need for better energy sources.

Jones recommended doubling funding for the Department of Energy's Buildings Program as a way to promote energy efficiency and creating new tax credits for plug-in hybrid vehicles.

The 75 recommendations fall under 13 broader categories, including reducing the environmental impact of energy consumption and production, increasing renewable sources of electricity and expanding nuclear energy use.

Click here to read the entire article.

Click to Print