President Obama's misguided energy policies must be reversed because they are hurting the economy. Even though no binding agreement came out of the climate summit in Copenhagen, and the cap and trade bill is stalled in the Senate, both have injected uncertainty into a fragile economy.
The EPA is making noises about imposing draconian carbon dioxide emission standards on an arbitrarily constructed list of businesses, creating further doubt. Business owners are unsure if they should expand or sit tight while they try to determine how the proposed regulations and restrictions will impact their bottom line.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has introduced a great deal of uncertainty to the domestic energy industry by restricting leases and increasing regulations on energy exploration.
When you add all this energy uncertainty to questions over health care, financial regulation, and taxes (such as the death tax expiring on Jan. 1 — or did it?) it's no wonder that business owners don't know if they should be hiring or firing.
In Colorado, we have the keys to a partial solution to our energy problems. The U.S. Geologic Survey estimates that Colorado and neighboring states sit on a total of 1.5 trillion barrels of oil from our vast oil shale reserves, six times that of Saudi Arabia's proven resources. This would satisfy the U.S. demand for imported oil of 10 million barrels a day for more than 200 years. Salazar has unfortunately not been willing to continue advances on research, development and demonstration projects from the previous administration.
In another job-killing move, Salazar kicked off the New Year by announcing yet more roadblocks to energy development. He will now require more detailed environmental reviews and more public input for leases on federal lands, while at the same time cutting back on the use of popular streamlined leasing provisions.
Not only could oil shale help us achieve energy independence, it could also create thousands of high-paying jobs for Coloradans. Last year, workers in the oil and gas extraction industry earned on average more than $27 an hour. Those are jobs we should be promoting and developing rather than stifling.
Colorado jobs will also be hurt if cap and trade is imposed, according to two studies. The Heritage Foundation estimates the House-passed bill could kill nearly 29,000 jobs here in Colorado in 2012 and the National Association of Manufacturers said the number could reach 36,000 by 2030. According to Heritage, cap and trade would cost families an average of $2,979 a year and as much as $4,600 a year by 2035. These losses far outweigh the relative handful of so-called green jobs we get in return for mandated higher energy costs on everybody through cap and trade.
We must pursue an all-of-the- above energy policy, and that includes harnessing wind, solar, hydro-electricity, and other alternative energy sources. Many of them are under development at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. Salazar has claimed he wants to develop all our sources of energy, and now he has the perfect opportunity to back those words up with action.
Recently, the National Park Service sided with the anti-energy crowd and struck a blow to the Cape Wind project, the first planned offshore wind farm in the U.S., by declaring Nantucket Sound is eligible for listing in the National Register as a historic place. Salazar has the unique ability, on his own, to overturn this recommendation and save this wind project. If he is truly committed to an all-of-the-above energy approach, he should let this wind project move forward.
The administration has tried to appease extreme environmentalists at the expense of hard-working families. Colorado is among the many areas of our country that have an abundance of natural resources. A renewed focus on energy production will create jobs, energy independence, and prosperity for our nation.
Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs is the ranking member on the Energy and Mineral Resources subcommittee in the House Committee on Natural Resources.