Blocking EPA regs threat to security goals

It is past time for our nation to get serious about a smart energy future: Boosting efficiency and transitioning to domestic, clean sources of energy that can never run out. The EPA, via the time-tested and widely beneficial Clean Air Act—as passed and amended by Congress, signed by Republican presidents and interpreted by the Supreme Court—is well positioned to jump-start this transition. And it is in our vital national interest to get started right away.

Our dependence on oil cripples the United States’ foreign policy, and entangles us with hostile regimes. And as those of us who have served our country have seen first-hand, it also puts our troops at great risk.

Our dependence on petroleum also holds our economy hostage to the international oil market. As we have seen these past few months, events far from our own shores contribute to a volatile oil market. And we cannot simply drill our way out of the problem: the U.S. has only about 2 percent of known reserves, while it consumes about a quarter of the world’s oil produced every year.

As chairman and CEO of a high-tech small business, I know the importance of market signals and regulatory certainty. Blocking EPA’s ability to control greenhouse gas emissions or undercutting the Clean Air Act sends a powerful message to the world that the U.S. is not a serious player in the $243 billion clean energy market. That is the wrong tack to take. Especially in these tough economic times, America needs policies that attract investment and the job growth this booming sector brings.

Embracing a clean energy future will make us a stronger nation—militarily, diplomatically and economically. It will grow our economy at home, while making us less vulnerable to the actions of regimes that do not always have our best interests at heart. And, most importantly, it would make it less likely that future generations of our fellow citizens in uniform would be sent into harm’s way.

For the sake of our nation’s security, health, and prosperity, it’s important that efforts to curb emissions transcend politics. The Senate helped to move our nation on the right path. Congress must not tie EPA’s hands.

Vice Admiral Dennis V. McGinn is a retired member of the U.S. Navy. He is the Chairman and CEO of Remote Reality.