Dear (Representative's name)
Our country is facing a severe energy crisis. "Peak Oil" was once considered a radical theory, but current research has given it a high degree of credibility. Some believe the peak may have already passed, while others think it will occur between 2005 and 2010. Not only are we running out of oil, we are running out of time.
The vulnerability of domestic oil production to hurricanes and other natural interruptions has illustrated our need for alternative sources of oil, gas, and gasoline. We have the technology and resources to produce synthetic crude oil from oil shale and tar sands, synthetic natural gas from coal, gasoline from coal liquefaction, and biodiesel from algae. Although our reserves of coal and oil shale are finite fossil fuels like crude oil, we have sufficient resources to supply our needs for at least 100 years. This would give us enough time to develop clean renewable energy sources for transportation fuels, and electricity from sources that include nuclear, geothermal, solar and wind energy. Increasing oil exploration in the United States will do little to solve our energy problems. Estimates of undiscovered oil, as cited in Chapter 5 of the U.S. National Energy Policy, amount to 39.1 billion barrels including reserves in the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf, the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the restricted areas of the Lower 48 States. At our present rate of consumption, these reserves would supply our needs for a little over 5 years!
I urge you and your colleagues in Congress to immediately enact legislation that will restore the Synthetic Fuels Program that President Reagan effectively ended in 1984. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has proposed a plan to make gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel from coal. Pennsylvania's Governor Ed Rendell announced that his administration has cleared the path for construction of the nation's first commercial plant that will convert waste coal into zero-sulfur diesel fuel and home-heating oil. Sasol, a South African company that has been using this technology for decades, is negotiating with China for construction of a coal-to-gasoline plant. We need to encourage and support the immediate construction of these kinds of facilities in the United States. If you are truly working towards energy independence, think of the tremendous impact that will result from eliminating oil as a source of our transportation fuels, and substituting gasoline from coal and biodiesel from algae. Similarly, companies such as Shell and Oxy have developed in-situ techniques for extracting oil from shale. With government support and encouragement, we could have a viable synthetic fuels industry in this country stimulating our economy, providing full employment, and freeing us from dependence on imported oil. We're spending billions of dollars to protect our sources of foreign oil. Why not spend those billions of OUR DOLLARS on development of our own independent oil supply?
Immediate action by Congress will send a message to the world that America will not be held hostage by foreign oil suppliers, and this may temporarily halt the rise in oil prices. In the long run, prices will inevitably go higher as oil reserves are depleted. But, we should be able to bring our own synthetic fuels program into operation long before severe depletion sets in.
Again, I urge you to act now!
Sincerely,
(Your Name)