A History Of Energy Problems
From gasoline for our cars to electricity that lights our homes and powers our businesses, we depend on a reliable supply of energy at stable prices, produced with tolerable impacts. Right now we’re failing on all counts—rolling blackouts, unstable gas prices, and air so dirty it’s causing global warming, sickness and even death.

The coal, oil and nuclear industries along with their polticial allies are pushing for policies that keep us hooked on dirty, unreliable and unsustainable fuels that continue to put our health and environment at risk, and in the end, leave us in no better shape for tomorrow.

We need a smarter, cleaner energy future.

Energy Pollution
Each year, energy-related smog and soot cause millions of asthma attacks and shorten the lives of at least 60,000 Americans. In the U.S., 82 percent of global warming pollution comes from energy production, and 95 percent of radioactive waste comes from nuclear power plants.

Energy Ripoffs
In the U.S., 10 power companies control 42 percent of the electricity supply. The state of California has found that companies which supply electricity to California have purposely held back power to drive up prices. OPEC, the international association of oil producing countries that controls world prices of petroleum, has also announced that they will reduce production to drive up prices.

Energy Blackouts
Californians have faced rolling blackouts. Yet California energy companies sued to avoid building new clean energy plants and spent $53 million in lobbying for and defending the new electricity laws that caused these problems.

Drilling In The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge And Other Sensitive Areas
The oil and gas industries and their political allies want to open up public lands and coastal areas to oil and gas drilling—even pristine places like the Arctic Refuge, national monuments and the Florida coast. Although the House voted to protect national monuments and the Florida coast, it rejected an amendment to protect the Arctic Refuge. While doing little to reduce costs for consumers, drilling in these areas would destroy precious natural spaces.

Weakening Clean Air Protections
The administration has proposed cutting funding for the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget to enforce our clean air laws. Now, the utilities and oil refiners are teaming up to roll back a provision of the Clean Air Act that requires old, dirty facilities to meet modern air quality standards before increasing output. Polluting utilities like the Southern Company have asked for the provision to be eliminated.

Wasting Taxpayer Dollars
The oil, coal and nuclear industries have received more than 80 percent of federal energy subsidies. These industries are lobbying for still more handouts. For example, the energy bill passed by the House in 2002 contained more than $27 billion in tax breaks that would increase global warming, radioactive waste production and oil spills.

There is no reason to destroy amazing places, weaken clean air protections or waste our tax dollars on coal and nuclear power. A smarter, cleaner energy policy would:

1. Save Energy Through Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is the quickest, cheapest, cleanest way to save energy and money and reduce pollution. Energy efficiency means using energy smarter, such as building cars that go farther on a gallon of gas and making light bulbs that use one quarter the energy of traditional bulbs. By 2020, we should double the efficiency of energy use in homes, in commercial buildings, in industry and for transportation.

2. Cut Pollution By Producing More Clean Power
The potential power output of wind, solar and geothermal resources in the U.S. is many times greater than our total electricity consumption. For example, the wind that blows in just four states––North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska––is enough to meet the electricity needs of the entire country. By 2020, as much as one-third of our energy could come from renewable energy.

3. Stabilize Energy Costs By Investing In Sustainable Energy Sources
The price of fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas are controlled by a handful of producers and can fluctuate wildly. By increasing power production from renewable sources that remain at a constant price as long as the wind blows and the sun shines, we will be less vulnerable to dramatic fuel price hikes.

1. Energy Efficiency, Not Environmental Destruction
Instead of drilling for oil in the Arctic Refuge and other sensitive areas, we should close the loophole that lets SUVs and other light trucks meet lower miles per gallon standards than cars. This step would save consumers $7 billion annually at the gas pump and would conserve more than twice as much as oil as would ever come from the Arctic Refuge.

2. Clean Energy, Not More Pollution
Instead of weakening Clean Air Act protections so that dirty power plants can keep polluting, we should enforce the current Clean Air Act and set new standards to protect the public from all four of the major power plant pollutants that cause smog, soot, acid rain, mercury poisoning and global warming.

3. Sustainable Energy, Not Wasted Tax Dollars
Instead of forcing taxpayers to pay billions for more polluting coal plants, we should require all electricity companies to provide power from clean, renewable energy sources as an increasing portion of the electricity they sell. By 2020, at least 20 percent of our power should come from renewables.