Odd Alliance Working To Break America’s Oil Habit

An improbable coalition of foreign-policy hawks and tree-hugging environmentalists have banded together to end America's dependence on foreign oil.

 The goal of the project is to support President Bush's stated efforts, as expressed in his 2006 State of the Union address, to break America's “addiction to oil.” 

 Called Set America Free, the group includes former CIA Director James Woolsey, Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C., and other prominent hawks.

 Woolsey calls the effort an alliance of “tree-huggers, do-gooders, sod-busters, hawks and evangelicals.”

 “We are paying the terrorists to kill us,” says Gaffney, adding that we are in a global war against terrorism but our petrodollars are financing both sides of the fight.  These are not the rants of a simple-minded Michael Moore “no war for oil” anti-war activist, but the sober assessment of a former high-ranking Reagan administration defense official and well-known national security hawk.

 America's oil dependence provides tremendous leverage to dangerous or unstable Middle Eastern oil states like Iran and Saudi Arabia, but also finances other anti-American radicals, such as oil-rich President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

The Saudis alone have spent an estimated $70 billion to $100 billion in oil cash over the past 30 years spreading their Wahabbi beliefs worldwide through Islamic schools. These beliefs provide the basis for much of the extremist Islamist ideology of al-Qaida and related terrorist groups.

Meanwhile, closer to home, the recent boom in oil prices has allowed Chavez to spend billions of dollars propping up Fidel Castro's decrepit communist dictatorship in Cuba, financing anti-American movements in Latin America and going on a massive weapons-buying spree that could soon threaten the United States.

Beyond these dangers, there are other threats: Another oil embargo as threatened by Iran, a well-designed attack on the petroleum infrastructure in the Middle East, or an act of God such as a Category 5 hurricane striking the U.S. Gulf Coast destroying similar infrastructure there could send oil to well over $100 per barrel and devastate our economy. These are just some of the vulnerabilities we face due to our nation's dependence on oil.

While most agree that Bush's proposals clearly are needed, some argue they don't go far enough. Because of the seriousness of the threat, we need to make this a focused national priority similar to the projects that built the atom bomb and sent men to the moon, emphasizes Gaffney. And with the right focus, oil independence could be achieved more quickly than many realize.

America's oil consumption is primarily absorbed by the transportation sector. According to Woolsey, by “looking at practical technologies that are applicable in the short run, with minimal change to existing infrastructure to the transportation sector” and with an investment of $12 billion, we could begin breaking America's oil habit in as little as four years. This practical effort avoids the more exotic, expensive and risky technologies, such as hydrogen cells.

The Set America Free project presents its proposals and goals in its “Blueprint for U.S. Energy Security.” This plan calls for a technological transformation of the transportation sector through “fuel choice,” which focuses on encouraging a shift to more fuel-efficient vehicles, biofuels and other alternative fuels.

Woolsey emphasizes that since these proposals use current technologies and would require minimal infrastructure changes, they could be implemented very quickly, adding: “Brazil recently went from having 5 percent of its vehicles using ethanol to 75 percent in two years!”

What are some of these fuel options and technologies, and how do they work?

Bush mentioned some of them in his State of the Union speech, like ethanol and the improbable-sounding “switch grass.” According to Woolsey the fuels and technologies can be broken down into diesel from waste, feedstock fuels, cellulose add-ons, hybrid technology and electric cars.

Increasing the use of diesel fuel made from waste products (biodiesel) is one of the cheapest and easiest alternatives because it requires zero investment and costs the consumer nothing. Diesel already is widely used in Europe, and with recent technological improvements it has provided great gains in performance and efficiency. Biodiesel can be made from coal, soybean and other vegetable oils, as well as waste products such as tires and animal byproducts.

Another option is ethanol. According to Woolsey, using more ethanol (grain alcohol) in cars would require less than a $200 change in the vehicle's fuel system while some relatively small changes would be needed at gas station pumps, tank trucks and pipelines. Vehicles with these changes are already being produced. These flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) can burn alcohol, gasoline or any mixture of the two. About 4 million FFVs have been produced since 1996.

E-85 fuel is now available and uses 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Initially, we could use ethanol from corn, but later we could use sugar if the industry desires. The best source, though, is from cellulose (including the plentiful and environmentally friendly switch grass). Half of the total acreage used in America's conservation reserve program is switch grass.

Meanwhile, fuel additives can enhance fuel efficiency up to 25 percent. They can be blended into gasoline, diesel and bunker fuel.

Gas-electric hybrids like the Toyota Prius already are more common on America's roads. By combining liquid fuel engines and batteries charged by the engine and the car's braking power, they are 30 percent to 40 percent more efficient than normal fuel-only cars. “Plug-in” electric hybrids are even better than standard hybrids because additionally they draw energy for their batteries from the power grid by being plugged into standard outlets.

Since half of the cars used in America travel fewer than 20 miles a day, a plug-in hybrid with a 20-mile-range battery would reduce fuel consumption by, on average, 85 percent. These cars could get up to 100 miles per gallon of gasoline.

Using more space-age ultra light materials, including high-strength plastics and carbon fiber composites, in automobile construction also can cut fuel consumption by half while increasing the crashworthiness of the vehicles. Carbon fiber composites used in jet aircraft and race cars, for example, are 10 times stronger than steel at half the weight. A typical small family can get the protection of a large, heavy SUV from a smaller, lighter carbon composite car with tremendously increased fuel efficiency.

But Woolsey adds: “We don't have to sacrifice our SUVs.” Even those who love their SUVs or need them to load Boy Scouts, Little League teams or equipment can get two to three times the gas mileage of current vehicles using carbon composites.

 And if you combine some of these fuel-saving measures, such as FFVs with hybrid technology and composite materials — the fuel economy would be amazing, perhaps reaching 500 miles per gallon! 

Breaking America's addiction to oil is more than just a worthwhile environmental endeavor; it is a national security imperative. If, by 2025, all American cars are flex fuel hybrids and half of them are plug-in hybrids, we could cut U.S. oil consumption by 12 million barrels per day. That would deny our enemies billions of dollars and make us much more energy independent. Set America Free believes that reaching that goal quickly should be a national priority.

Paul Crespo is an adjunct Fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington, DC