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Universal Press Syndicate 1977 Copyright Whatever one thinks of President Carter’s specific proposals for conserving and producing energy, I hope Americans have gotten over their self-indulgent flirtation with the notion that there really is no such thing as an energy crisis: that the big oil companies are just holding back in order to force up the price, or something of that sort. That kind of cynical contention appeals to our national impulse to be (or at least sound) sophisticated about complex matters. But in the present situation it blinds us to reality and prevents us from making a serious effort to improve matters. True enough, there would be sufficient oil for America (and oil is the basic problem), even at our present profligate rate of consumption, if we were willing to become permanently dependent on the Middle Eastern oil suppliers—and to pay whatever price they might hereafter demand. Alternatively, there would also soon (though not immediately) be enough domestic oil, even at present-use rates, if we were willing to pay the much higher prices domestic producers would have to charge in order to finance the expanded production. What we cannot do is have it both ways: reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil by expanding domestic production, while continuing to pay the low prices we became accustomed to in the Good Old Days when Arabs, like children, were to be seen but not heard. Carter is right on target, therefore, in proposing a three-way mix of energy steps: measures to reduce waste and unnecessary use; measures to encourage increased domestic production; and measures to develop new energy sources to supplement or replace oil where possible. In practice, these steps mean respectively: taxing the ‘‘gas-guzzling”’ big cars we Americans are so fond of, right out of our reach—a step wildly unpopular with libertarians, among many others, but pragmati cally defensible; permitting domestic producers of oil and natural gas to raise their prices enough to finance increased production; and expanding, within guarded limits, our reliance on nuclear power—the only realistic alternative—where this can do the job. Note, however, that at least the first two of these three proposals will call for sacrifice on the part of some or all of our citizens. Big private cars may approach the category of yachts, of which J. P. Morgan is supposed to have remarked that, if you have to calculate whether you can afford one, you can’t. What’s more, most of the increased costs in all categories will be bucked right on down the line to the ultimate consumer. Living in mid-town Manhattan, I don’t even own a car. But the bus and taxi fares I pay are bound to go up to pay for more expensive gas, and I shudder to think what may happen to the cost of airline tickets (speaking of ‘‘gas-guzzlers’’). Whole industries dependent on petrochemical fuels—buses, trucking, diesel engines—or on other petrochemical products (and that includes most synthetics) will feel the crunch and pass it on. Let’s try, then, to remember that it isn’t the new prices that are artificially high: it was the old ones that were artificially low. They were the by-products of a happy era when Uncle Sam’s word was low in the Middle East, and no one dared say its nay. For one reason or another, that is no longer the case. And we must pay accordingly. One further thing: Let us also resolve, as a nation, not to take any more lip from the anti-nuclear power lobby, which is determined to make our energy problems infinitely worse by denying this country the nuclear energy it desperately needs and can easily obtain. Preying on public ignorance and fears of nuclear physics, a relative handful of stop-the-world faddists and Arcadian ecologists have bullied this country into all but halting progress in this vital field. We could afford, perhaps, to indulge them when oil was cheap and plentiful. We can’t any longer, and we should say so—loud and clear. I THINK THAT THE UNIVERSITY HAS FOUND A WAY TO CUT EXPENSES FOR THE NEIT FISCAL. Yehe— THAT 5 10 OUT MY FINANCIAL AUD. .
Newspaper Details
Dallas Daily Campus
Dallas, Texas, US
Tue, Apr 26, 1977
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Roger M.
USA 01 Jul 2026
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