What sort of provisions should a real energy bill contain?
By the time Congress gets around to the next energy bill of course, it will be apparent to nearly everyone a world-class crisis is upon us. The poor countries will be in anarchy due to their inability to afford or purchase sufficient oil. In the developed countries, the price of gasoline will be so high, there will be no question the current price is not just a temporary “spike” caused by speculators. If long lines at the gas pumps accompany very high prices, then the message to pass real legislation will come even sooner.
The required congressional actions are obvious and simple: mandatory conservation and the halting of wasteful practices, a shift to renewable energy, and the development of sustainable lifestyles. While this is easy to say, it will require decades and much hardship to accomplish fully.
We will need a strong central energy authority make the many decisions and issue the orders to hold us together through the coming decades. As the legislative history of the 2005 energy bill shows, recent Congresses simply have not had the chemistry to make the kind of tough decisions that will be needed to deal with peak oil. Some type of “Energy Crisis Board” with extraordinary powers (like the War Production Board of World War II) will have to be set up. Congress will have to delegate to this Board, control over many aspects of our economy as they relate to the production, distribution, and consumption of energy.
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