Energy Policy That Can Deliver

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Byline: Reid Detchon, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

As oil prices hit $55 per barrel and set records, and analysts forecast an even higher spike to $60 soon, the lack of an effective, long-term energy policy is an increasingly costly problem for the U.S. economy and national security. But this situation is equally an opportunity if we act responsibly, unleashing American ingenuity to set a new direction for our nation and the world.

We need a purposeful, strategic energy policy that will address three great challenges:

(1) The danger to political and economic security posed by the world's dependence on oil.

(2) The risk to the global environment from climate change, caused primarily by fossil fuel …