IU community takes on Bush's oil reduction plan

According to the most recent State of the Union Address, one of President Bush's main goals for his second term is to break the dependency on foreign -- especially Middle Eastern -- oil.\nWhile Bush re-emphasized this week that the nation's security, environment and economy would benefit from accomplishing that goal, IU professors stressed that reducing the flow of oil from the Middle East would be just one of many steps necessary to solve the nation's energy crisis. \nThe country depends on imports for approximately 60 percent of the oil it uses, said Evan Ringquist, a professor for the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. However, he said, the United States is by no means dependent upon oil imported from the Middle East. The top five oil suppliers to the United States today are Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria. \n"Most Americans have a mistaken impression of where we get our foreign oil," he said. "Reducing our dependence on Middle Eastern oil would be easy. Reducing dependence on all foreign oil -- now, that's hard to do." \nThe president's recent comments allude to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Ringquist said. The legislation, passed last August, allocated $4.8 billion for the development of clean-coal technology, as well as more than $2 billion over five fiscal years for researching hydrogen power. \nUnder Bush's new strategy, the administration is asking Congress for a "down payment" -- $250 million for the next fiscal year -- to jump-start the decade-long research program into commercial recycling of nuclear fuel, according to the Associated Press. Bush's proposal champions selling reactors and nuclear fuel to developing nations, who would then be required to return used fuel for recycling. \nRemarks this week echo statements Bush made in his State of the Union address, when he promoted the Advanced Energy Initiative -- a plan to "dramatically improve our environment, move beyond a petroleum-based economy and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past." Specifically, he said he aimed to replace 75 percent of U.S. oil imports from the Middle East over the next 19 years by stepping up research spending. \nHowever, Ringquist said, while Bush's emphasis on developing clean coal and renewing interest in nuclear technology hold promise for more efficient ways to generate electricity, those two initiatives are largely unrelated to foreign oil dependency. \n"You have to follow the money, not the rhetoric," he said. "Both of these methods generate electricity, and we use oil for transportation. We don't burn any Middle Eastern oil to generate electricity." \nPolitical science professor William Thompson said he doubted the administration's plans would affect oil use, at least in the short run. \n"Is the Bush initiative serious? I don't think so," he said. "To really promote development of alternative sources of energy, we would have to encourage a shift from gas by doing something about the price of gasoline, taxing it like the Europeans do. I don't think we'll be doing that anytime soon." \nRingquist said he believes the greatest potential to reduce oil dependency lies in some of Bush's "less flashy" proposals. Increased production of biofuels such as ethanol, he said, would meet that goal and could be implemented without drastic changes to current infrastructure or vehicles. He also mentioned the Energy Policy Act's call to drill for oil on the outer continental shelf, which he said has been off-limits since the 1980s for fear of oil spills. \nThe danger of major environmental damage because of drilling is very low, Ringquist said, because of the improved technology and track record of off-shore rigs today. "And naturally, if we're producing more oil at home, we will be less dependent on its import," he said. \nBoth Thompson and Ringquist added that as worldwide supply of nonrenewable fossil fuels diminishes -- especially with increased demand from burgeoning economies such as China and India -- reducing U.S. demand for oil will become progressively more important. \n"If I were the president's press secretary, I would say, 'Well, yes, Dr. Ringquist, you're right -- we're not importing lots of oil from the Middle East right now,'" Ringquist said. "But in 15 or 20 years, the top sources of imported oil will look a lot different ... If our demand for oil remains high, in 20 years the percentage of oil we're importing from the Middle East will almost certainly be higher than it is now -- because that's where the oil is"