Disparate groups find unity on the issue of energy independence.
The push to move America beyond oil has traditionally come from conservationists and resource economists. But as awareness grows that our dangerous dependence on oil is also an economic and national security issue, new voices are joining the call for a clean, secure energy future.
A group called the Set America Free Coalition, organized by the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, is one such voice. The coalition brings together allies from disparate sides of the political spectrum, including religious leaders, defense experts and the labor movement, all of whom are concerned about the urgent threats America's oil dependence poses to our national and economic security.
The coalition brings together allies from disparate sides of the political spectrum, including religious leaders, defense experts and the labor movement, all of whom are concerned about the urgent threats America's oil dependence poses to our national and economic security.
The coalition includes former CIA director James Woolsey; Frank Gaffney, president of the conservative Center for Security Policy; Robert McFarlane, former national security adviser under President Reagan; and Gary Bauer of American Values, to name but a few. Like traditional supporters of higher fuel economy standards and renewable energy alternatives, these well-known security hawks agree that America must reduce its demand for the world's oil in order to ensure a clean and secure energy future.
In venues like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, coalition members argue that now is the time for large-scale, national commitment to twenty-first-century energy technologies. Arguing passionately that America's oil dependence makes us vulnerable and that oil is linked to terrorism and oppressive regimes around the world, these new voices are mobilizing action across red and blue states alike.
NRDC has worked closely with the coalition in Congress on joint efforts to convert the U.S. transportation sector to cleaner, more efficient vehicles, homegrown renewable fuels and other key oil-saving measures, such as transit-oriented development.
Farmers, business leaders and others are joining similar broad coalitions calling for change, such as Reenergize America and the Energy Security Council. These diverse coalitions have all found unity in a common theme. As Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn (U.S. Navy, Ret.) of Reenergize America puts it, "Our continuing reliance on oil and energy technologies of the past is a serious national security challenge, which threatens our economy, our heath, and our quality of life. As a nation, we can rise to this challenge now, with clear action and modern technology, to move beyond oil from unstable regions of the world."