America Must Invest in Energy Efficiency

America Must Invest in Energy Efficiency

In recent years our country has had many debates over what must be done to lessen the amount of oil that our country consumes. It is well known that we need to make some type of change to help not only the environment, but also lessen our reliance on imported oil. President Bush recently announced his new plan that could someday greatly reduce that amount of oil that Americans use by replacing oil with hydrogen fuel cells. Although this plan is a step in the right direction, it is not the answer. There are far too many downsides that could actually hurt our country in the long run. One problem is that the plan proposed by Bush will take far too long before any changes will be seen. This is a major issue due to the fact that a previous plan was showing very promising signs for short-term success. A second problem is that the President’s funding is not in the correct area of hydrogen fuel cell research; he is funding methods that are not reasonable. When the new hydrogen fuel cell plan is looked at closely it actually uses oil that could be set aside. I feel that Bush’s plan for funding fuel cell research will not solve many of today’s problem regarding oil problems in our country because it could be more efficient and have more immediate effects.

Although Bush’s plan could someday make a huge difference in the amount of oil used in the US, there is no way of knowing when any changes will be seen. I feel that something needs to be done to change our oil consumption as soon as possible. A major change would be seen very soon if President Clinton’s plan were to continue being funded. His idea was not to totally stop cars form using oil, but to lessen the amount of ...

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...is is the answer to our short term oil problems, but it is not a long-term solution. That is why I feel that we do need to spend some money on hydrogen fuel cells. If we split the money between the two forms of research, it would help the US now and in the future. We must also fund the correct areas of hydrogen fuel cell research. To me it makes no sense to fund something when there is a better way to do it. Bush seems to simply be protecting the oil companies; he must learn to look past this and see the big picture. America is in need of a great change when it comes to our consumption of oil, and Bush has the opportunity to make huge changes if he spends the money in the correct way. I believe that the intentions of Bush’s new plan are good because of the fact that he wants to make a change, but I feel that his ideas must be revised before they are put into effect.