Editorials

Energy independence is a worthwhile, though difficult, goal

Highlands Today
Published: September 26, 2012

No one outside the oil industry will disagree about the need for our country to be energy independent. It's the key to so many things important to all of us. But getting there is difficult because people just can't afford it. At least baby steps are happening that, we hope, will get us there sooner rather than later.

The Associated Press reported that the Chevy Volt, the electric hybrid launched a few years ago, is losing lots of money. General Motors has slashed 25 percent off the substantial retail price even though the company was losing money even at full price. The reason, of course, is that most consumers just can't afford cars that expensive.

Americans want our country to be energy independent and realize that cannot happen until we embrace tapping more of our natural resources and shifting to a more sustainable energy system. But we also can't make these big changes if it means costs go up too much.

Some environmentalists want the price of oil to climb to the point that we won't mind paying extra for alternative fuels. The problem with that thinking is that most people can't afford doing that, and our businesses cannot, either. Shipping goods is a major cost for many employers and the trade-off of staying in business or using the cheapest energy possible leans toward the latter.

Chevy has no plans to discontinue the Volt because the losses are subsidized by the models that make money — for now. And the technology is crucial for the future in the hopes that prices for these types of vehicles will come down to an acceptable level for consumers. We hope they're successful.

Our country needs to be energy independent as quickly as possible. The sooner we can quit dealing with countries that hate us, the better. We don't need to be financing terror attacks against our own country, which sometimes is the case in these countries.

Making the transition, though, is difficult. We hope all the work and cost in developing the technology necessary to put a dent in our oil dependency pays off soon. It's a delicate balancing act but so much rides on it working out.