From the Archives: New Energy Crisis?

STEPHEN KALIN ‘09

Stephen Kalin ‘09 double majored in Political Science and International Studies at Davidson. He currently serves as a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. He is based in the Middle East, and principally covers Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. In 2022, Kalin moved in Ukraine to report on the Russian invasion. He previously worked for Reuters News, reporting from the front lines of the war in Iraq and of the Syrian civil war. The piece below was written in his first year at Davidson.

In light of the recent hurricane in New Orleans, three facts of American life have become painfully obvious.

First, we as a people are dangerously reliant on oil. Second, something needs to be done in order to check rising domestic gasoline consumption. And third, the current administration and Congress are not determined to take action to resolve this national crisis. Before last week’s hurricane, gasoline prices had been steadily rising throughout the summer. The storm’s destruction of America’s largest energy hub has served simply to accelerate a situation that was bound to unfold at some point. With a reduction in the supply of gasoline, prices have skyrocketed to almost $4 a gallon in some areas of the country.

The reasonable response would be to reduce consumption as during the energy crisis of the 1970s. But the Bush administration, in its unflagging support of big business, has flooded the market with supplies from the nation’s stash of crude oil and lowered environmental standards for gasoline refineries. The president has thus foregone an opportunity to improve both his domestic and international standing by refusing to responsibly control America’s dependence on oil.

The lack of any feasible energy program from the Bush administration demonstrates an unsettling lack of effort in the White House and a lack of concern among the American public . America’s security and to be aware of their personal gasoline consumption and reduce it through the use of public transportation, carpools, bicycles and other environmentally-friendly means. Oversized vehicles in particular drain the foreign and domestic policy are compromised by a reliance on petroleum that strains the economy, squanders taxpayers’ money and places American stability at the whim as other nations.

Avo Reid ‘22 (he/him) is a Linguisitcs major from McLean, Virginia. He usually sleeps eight hours a night. He can be reached at avreid@davidson.edu.

Moreover, the air pollution generated by combustion puts humans and the rest of the environment in considerable danger. Energy consumption and harmful emissions have increased dramatically in recent years as people have begun to drive less efficient automobiles, requiring greater government spending to repair damage done to the environment. The time has surely come to recognize our nation’s vulnerability and demand a change.

As the leaders of our nation, President Bush and members of Congress ought to muster the political courage to impose emission limitations on automobile makers and offer incentives for the implementation of fuelefficient technology. Higher taxes on gasoline would also encourage individuals to limit their consumption.

Furthermore, the President should call on America’s youth to explore the field of science in hopes of finding a renewable energy source.

Effective change cannot come exclusively from the top. Americans have a civic duty country’s resources and pollute the air that we all breathe. The American culture of excess, exemplified by the abundance of McMansions and SUVs, has encouraged many people in recent years to disregard the effects of their actions on others.

The notions of sacrifice and caution that sustained the nation through the Great Depression and the energy crisis of the 1970s seem to have disappeared.

Finally, as Davidson students, we are in a unique position to improve our country’s condition. In addition to reducing our own gasoline consumption, we must encourage others to do the same and demand that our government follow suit. America’s youth has the intellectual capacity and political influence to alter the current course of the nation through awareness campaigns, activism and perhaps most efficiently at the polls. We must use this power wisely.