What about alternative energy? New power sources and conservation could curb America's dependence on foreign oil. But it would require government help.

• Author: Vilbig, Peter

The possibility of an Iraq-related oil crisis is breathing new life into dreams of alternative energy. A combination of expanded domestic oil drilling, more fuel-efficient engines, and greater use of unconventional and renewable power sources could make it happen, say advocates of energy independence.

Among their ideas: huge fields of high-tech windmills that would brew power out of the wind; giant arrays of solar panels generating electricity from sunlight; and a futuristic automobile that runs on hydrogen.

Those ideas, however, all face formidable political and economic obstacles. Currently, alternative and renewable fuels provide only about 5 percent of U.S. power, and most are more expensive than oil power. Without tax breaks or other government subsidies, analysts say, alternative fuels won't take off.

"We can only lower the costs so much," says John Mogford, a vice president responsible for renewable resources at BP, the third-largest oil company. "Until policy makers change societal priorities, renewables will develop at quite a slow pace."

DRILLING OVER WIND-MILLING

President George W. Bush has so far taken a conservative approach. The administration's energy plan calls for more oil drilling in the U.S.--including along the nation's coasts and in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge--coupled with modest increases in automotive fuel efficiency.

Drilling in the refuge, which may contain between 3 billion and 16 billon barrels of oil, is heavily opposed by environmentalists. The President argues that oil from the refuge would dramatically reduce demand for foreign supplies. Critics, noting that the U.S. uses more than 7 billion barrels of oil a year, contend the pool would be quickly exhausted.

Bush opposes the use of government subsidies or tax breaks to spur alternative-energy development, arguing that such government programs don't work, and that, left to itself, the free market will better solve U.S. energy needs. "The President believes economic growth and environmental protection can go hand in hand," says Scott McClellan, a White House spokesman.

Alternative-fuel advocates argue that oil is actually getting favorable treatment, because its price doesn't reflect its environmental harm or the cost of protecting oil interests abroad--as in the Middle East.

Congress too appears to have little enthusiasm for changing government policies to reduce oil dependence. A bill introduced recently by Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joe...