A group of CEOs and retired military officers, called the Energy Security Leadership Council, has issued a report urging tougher vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, wider access to offshore petroleum, greater incentives for biofuel development and increased production of flex-fuel cars.
Calling for a “meaningful reduction” in the U.S. economy’s oil reliance and a “prudent expansion” of secure oil supplies, the council hopes to end what it describes as a paralysis of U.S. energy policy. Members of the council say they are concerned that import reliance leaves the United States vulnerable to supply disruptions from unstable producing areas.
The council is co-chaired by FedEx CEO Frederick Smith and former Marine Corps. Commandant X.P. Kelley. “Political forces have often portrayed increased supply and decreased demand as mutually exclusive ambitions,” the two co-chairs say in an open letter to the White House and Congress. “In fact, both goals are indispensable components of any comprehensive policy for obtaining genuine energy security.”
The group calls for cutting U.S oil “intensity” in half by 2030 and puts forward a whole raft of issues to supposedly achieve it, like increased fuel efficiency. However it also endorses drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
So out of the frying pan into the fire…