Securing America’s Energy Future recommends 13 energy principles

July 16, 2008 at 8:49 am | Posted in Clean energy, Climate change, Climate science, Energy efficiency, Energy infrastructure, Energy security, Environment, Fossil fuels, Leadership, Nuclear energy, Professional skills, Regulations, Renewable energy, Transportation | 1 Comment
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Former policymakers are today calling on the next President and Congress to secure America’s energy future with a long-term, commonsense vision in:

Securing America’s Energy Future: An open letter to the 44th President of the United States and the 111th U.S. Congress

It includes thirteen energy principles proposed by the Institute for 21st Century Energy, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and has already been endorsed by the following leaders:

Spencer Abraham
Former Secretary of Energy and U.S. Senator (R-MI)

Dr. David M. Abshire
Former Ambassador to NATO and President and CEO of the Center for the Study of the Presidency

George F. Allen
Former U.S. Senator (R-VA) and Governor of Virginia

Richard L. Armitage
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State

Howard H. Baker, Jr.
Former U.S. Senator (R-TN), White House Chief of Staff, and U.S. Ambassador to Japan

Gen. Charles G. Boyd, USAF (Ret.)
President and Chief Executive Officer of Business Executives for National Security

Frank C. Carlucci
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense

William S. Cohen
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense, U.S. Senator and Representative (R-ME)

Thomas J. Donohue
President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Kenneth M. Duberstein
Former White House Chief of Staff

Donald L. Evans
Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce

J. Bennett Johnston
Former U.S. Senator (D-LA)

General James L. Jones (Ret. USMC)
President and CEO of the Institute for 21st Century Energy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger
Former National Security Advisor and U.S. Secretary of State

Robert “Bud” McFarlane
Former National Security Advisor

Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty, III
Former Counselor to President Clinton, Special Envoy for the Americas, and White House Chief of Staff

Sam Nunn
Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and former U.S. Senator (D-GA)

Dr. William J. Perry
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense

Gen. Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.)
Former U.S. Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and National Security Advisor

Charles S. Robb
Former U.S. Senator (D-VA) and Governor of Virginia

Joseph E. Robert, Jr.
Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of J.E. Robert Companies

Dr. James R. Schlesinger
Former U.S. Secretary of Energy, U.S. Secretary of Defense, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft (Ret. USAF)
Former National Security Advisor

Dr. George P. Shultz
Former U.S. Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Secretary of Labor

Admiral James D. Watkins (Ret. USN)
Former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Chief of Naval Operations

R. James Woolsey
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

In addressing the next President of the United States and the U.S. Congress, the Institute for 21st Century Energy letter endorsed by the elder statesmen listed above states:

We remain optimistic that America when challenged, properly informed, and led will successfully meet these challenges. We strongly recommend that our next president and the 111th Congress commit to a strategic and comprehensive program based on the following clear and fundamental pillars. The nation’s leadership should, as a matter of national policy:

address each of THE 13 ENERGY PRINCIPLES, expanded in the Open Letter, summarised here:

• Aggressively Promote Energy Efficiency
• Reduce the Environmental Impact of Energy Consumption and Production
• Invest in Climate Science to Guide Energy, Economic, and Environmental Policy
• Significantly Increase the Funding for Research, Development, and Demonstration of Advanced Clean Energy Technologies
• Immediately Expand Domestic Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
• Commit to and Expand Nuclear Energy Use
• Commit to the Use of Clean Coal
• Increase Renewable Sources of Electricity
• Transform our Transportation Sector
• Modernize and Protect U.S. Energy Infrastructure
• Address Critical Shortages of Qualified Energy Professionals
• Reduce Overly Burdensome Regulations and Opportunities for Frivolous Litigation
• Demonstrate Global Leadership on Energy Security and Climate Change

According to Associated Press, the Open Letter has been sent to both presidential candidates and all members of Congress today, 16 July 2008, and begins:

Securing America’s Energy Future

An open letter to the 44th President of the United States and the 111th U.S. Congress:

America is facing a long-term energy crisis, one which could become one of the most significant economic and national security challenges of the 21st century. We strongly recommend that you attach the highest priority to developing and implementing a strategic energy policy that has a long-term, commonsense vision and the full attention of our national leadership. Energy fuels our competitiveness in the world economy and supports our quality of life. It underpins our innovative high-tech economy, resilient manufacturing base, bountiful agricultural sector, and courageous armed forces. In short, energy, and how we use it, will define who we are as a nation for the foreseeable future.

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