Alternative energy

Congress’ many short-term solutions to high oil prices not only are appreciated by constituents, they are necessary actions to prevent OPEC from gaining a chokehold on a vital part of the U.S. economy. But more important long term than releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve or establishing a regional reserve are decisions that the nation and Maine could take now to reduce their dependency on oil in the future.

If this all sounds familiar, it is because the nation came to similar conclusions the last time oil prices were high, in the early 1980s. But oil prices fell, alternative-energy research went the way of disco and SUVs became larger than some of the nations that produced those tiny gas-sipping cars Americans once bought. In that sense, the current price spike is like an uncomfortable reminder of a New Year’s resolution the country made but didn’t keep.

Rep. John Baldacci last week introduced legislation that would promote efficiency and alternative sources of energy and sounds like an updated version of what the country should have been doing for the last dozen years. His bill includes tax credits for installing heat pumps, natural gas water heaters, advanced central air conditioners and fuel cells. New energy efficient homes could receive a tax credit of up to $2,000. Energy experts and others might want to see the list of credits expanded to other energy fields, or they might conclude that there is a better way than tax credits to create diversification. But they are likely to agree with the point of the legislation — cheap oil has made the nation complacent and too dependent on foreign oil; it needs more and better alternatives.

Whether Americans understand energy options now more than they did when the first solar hot-water systems first began appearing on rooftops is debatable. Hydropower used to be considered environmentally friendly; now dams are a target for removal. Protesters of nuclear power want to wipe out the industry while barely noting that its common replacement, coal, kills more people in a year than nuclear power has in the history of the industry.

The Baldacci legislation is incremental. It rewards businesses and families that find ways to consume less oil. It doesn’t try to revolutionize the energy industry. But bringing the public back to the idea that it does not have to be nearly as dependent on OPEC; that a diversity of sources is a hedge against price spikes; and that new technologies could promise competition with traditional energy sources are valuable ideas worth supporting.

The trick for Rep. Baldacci’s bill and others like it is to keep the attention of the public once the price of oil goes down. That requires making advancements in technology now, while the price is high.