Energy security: impact on the war on terror.

• Author: Farrell, Jr., Lawrence P.
• Position: PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE

The crucial link between national security and energy has been the subject of much debate and several blue-ribbon studies in recent months. There is a growing consensus that the United States has to find ways to bring along alternative and renewable sources of energy, for both the military and the nation.

Following on last month's perspective, I thought I would highlight the poignant discussions on energy and security that took place at the 2007 Joint Services Environmental Management conference in Columbus, Ohio.

Of particular note were remarks by R. James Woolsey Jr., foreign policy specialist and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Woolsey pointed out that our reliance on imported petroleum and on the electric grid represent huge vulnerabilities that we need to begin to address sooner rather than later.

He reminded us that the United States spends $1 billion a day to buy oil. Such a staggering amount of treasure that we allocate to foreign oil raises serious questions about who ultimately benefits in the enormously lucrative oil market. Woolsey urged us to ponder the uncomfortable thought that the United States could be funding both sides of the war on terror--our side and theirs.

Further, our critical dependence--and that of other developed and rapidly developing nations--on imported oil has made it a strategic commodity.

Woolsey's proposed solution to the problem offers, as its central feature, the notion that oil should cease to exist as a strategic commodity. To achieve this goal, the nation would have to pursue a portfolio of technologies and approaches to energy conservation and fuel efficiency, some of which are near at hand.

He emphasized three areas: vehicles, the electric grid and alternative energy sources.

For vehicles, he proposes a move to "plug-in" hybrid vehicles. Since most folks drive less than 40 miles per day, most of their driving would be on battery power. Their recharging would be at night during off-peak hours. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have batteries that can be recharged by connecting a plug to an electrical power source. Plug-in hybrids have characteristics of both conventional hybrid electric vehicles and of battery electric vehicles. While they usually are passenger vehicles, they can also be commercial passenger vans, utility trucks, school buses, scooters and military vehicles. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are sometimes called grid-connected hybrids or gas-optional hybrids.

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