WASHINGTON, D.C.—Pundits and polls agree: Voters are fed up with the status quo. In a January NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, 61 percent of voters said they want change in the 2016 elections.
When it comes to national energy policy, change is well overdue. The United States is now the world’s leading producer of oil and natural gas, but until a few weeks ago, we were still operating under a crude oil export ban enacted during the ‘70s oil embargo crisis.
Much of today’s electorate doesn’t even remember the long gas station lines and fuel shortages that gave rise to the export ban, yet it was still a major part of our energy policy until a bipartisan vote in Congress finally overturned it in December.
In the past decade alone, technological advances in oil and natural gas production have ushered in a new era.
American crude oil production jumped 88 percent between 2008 and 2015, and natural gas production increased almost 45 percent since 2005.
The turnaround has helped drive down gasoline prices, slash heating and electricity costs for households and businesses, shrink fuel imports and reduce carbon emissions to near 20-year lows thanks to increased use of clean-burning natural gas.
We’ve come a long way, but our energy policy hasn’t.
Washington should capitalize on the U.S. energy resurgence and focus on policies that build American energy security and global leadership, such as expediting natural gas exports to our allies, updating energy infrastructure to keep pace with new production and unlocking the 87 percent of federal offshore acreage that has been off limits to energy exploration for decades.
Rolling back obsolete regulations enacted in response to energy scarcity is a must, and you don’t even have to go back to the ‘70s to find them.
Federal ethanol policy enacted in 2007 is already outdated. When Congress approved the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), fuel imports, costs and emissions were all on the rise.
Forcing refiners to add increasing amounts of ethanol to the nation’s fuel supply each year was intended to reverse the trends.
But that’s not how it worked out. We achieved lower gas prices and reduced reliance on fuel imports not because of government ethanol mandates but because of market forces and increased domestic oil and natural gas production.
Environmental and economic damage caused by the RFS has motivated a broad coalition to demand action.
Although “corn ethanol was touted as being cleaner than gasoline,” says the Environmental Working Group (EWG), “10 years later we know it’s just the opposite.”
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Simply put, “Mandating more corn ethanol into our gas tanks has been a climate disaster,” according to EWG.
By diverting nearly 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop from food to fuel, the ethanol mandate has contributed to a 25 percent increase in the consumer price index for food since 2005—prompting anti-hunger organizations, grocers, restaurant associations and meat producers to speak out.
Each year the RFS remains in place, the potential for problems grows. Ninety percent of vehicles are not manufacturer-approved to use gasoline with ethanol volume greater than the current 10 percent (E10).
But the mandate to increase total ethanol volume each year, regardless of market demand, means 15 percent ethanol fuel (E15) could become the norm. Extensive testing shows that E15 can cause damage to engines and fuel systems that automakers warn may not be covered by warranty.
Besides paying the mechanic bill, drivers could end up paying an extra 26 cents per gallon of gasoline unless the RFS is reformed, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Energy is an important issue for Americans. Recent polling shows 79 percent of voters support increased production of U.S. oil and natural gas resources, including strong majorities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
To build a secure energy future, it’s time to move beyond policies rooted in past energy scarcity and enact plans that capitalize on today’s energy reality.
