What is an energy crisis solution
By Staff
Jerry Fancher
With gas prices expected to reach $4 per gallon in a short time, who is to blame? What are the solutions? Could it be the politicians in Washington? Do you think that they will have any answers?
Much of the blame must be taken by the shortsighted, left wing politicians who did not want any oil and gas exploration, no use of coal, no development of nuclear power, and no aggressive development of new technologies, who are now scratching their heads and looking for scapegoats.
In the past our problems have been solved by entrepreneurs who have taken the bull by the horns and found solutions. With all the regulations that Washington has in place, it will be difficult for American entrepreneurs to solve our energy problems. It is imperative that Washington institute changes in the burdensome regulations to allow the U S to become energy independent. America is still the most technologically advanced nation in the world, despite decades of bad legislation.
The left's strategy of anti-oil and anti-coal must go. We must have energy independence, innovation and incentives. The United States has over 85.9 billion barrels of undiscovered recoverable oil and 419.9 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas, according to the Minerals Management Service.
Here are some suggestions of Newt Gingrich that make a lot of sense:
1. Change federal law to give all states with offshore oil and gas the same share of federal royalties Wyoming gets for land-based resources (48 percent)
2. Change federal law to allow those states that want to permit exploration with appropriate safeguards to do so.
3. Allow companies engaged in oil and gas exploration and development to write off their investments in one year.
4. Develop a tax credit for refitting existing coal plants.
5. Make it easier to build nuclear power plants.
There are many ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and looking to the left leaning liberals in Washington is not at the top of my list.
Jerry Fancher is Chairman of the Franklin County Republican Executive Committee. He can be reached via email at jfanchergop@yahoo.com.
