Energy Security: U.S. Must Make Hard Choices

The current U.S. energy mix is geopolitically, environmentally and economically unsustainable, requiring the nation to make tough choices regarding its future use of fossil fuels, nuclear energy and renewable power, says a report from the American Security Project, a bipartisan policy and research organization chaired by former Sen. Gary Hart.


“American’s Energy Choices” is a more subtle reading than what often passes for energy-security analysis in the mainstream political discussion, and unlike similar reports from liberal and conservative think tanks, it doesn’t outline a precise course on the thorny energy-security question. Instead, it attempts to analyze the full spectrum of security impacts that flow from use and reliance on different types of energy.

Importantly, it acknowledges that “energy security does not depend on the percentage of supply that is imported,” pointing out that “in a world of globally traded commodities, it is no longer possible to be truly energy independent: even domestically produced energy sources are subject to fluctuations in global commodity markets.” So while acknowledging that reliance on foreign oil has negative consequences – driving down the value of the dollar and hurting American competitiveness – the report doesn’t fixate on increasing domestic fossil fuel production. Energy security, it says, “comes from flexibility, competition, and redundancy.” More >>> Download the report here

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