No help from the feds on regional energy independence

Despite questions from western governors, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman would not discuss efforts to develop renewable energy. It's just not a priority for the federal government. But for western states, it's becoming one.

Most interesting, however, is this quote from the Salt Lake Tribune article:

A panel discussion on energy independence featured presentations by Bret Clayton of Kennecott Energy, a coal mining corporation based in Wyoming, and Robert Ebel, who served with the CIA for 11 years and the Department of Interior's Office of Oil and Gas for seven years.

An expert analyst on world oil and energy issues, Ebel's blunt assessment of American energy independence is that it won't happen unless some unnamed event forces renewal of a lost sense of responsibility.

Americans don't care where oil comes from as long as it's available and priced right, he said. In the 1970s, people were willing to accept both high prices and limits on purchases.

"We have lost that political will," Ebel said. "Every energy decision our government makes has a trade-off. These trade-offs carry their own costs, their own risks, but rarely do we consider that."