(11/08/01, Rev. 11/27/01)

Contents:

Our dependence on oil to fuel our vehicles and drive our economy is at the heart of the conflict we now face in the Middle East and Central Asia. We import more than half of the oil we use, and almost half of our imports come from OPEC member nations. It is primarily this dependence upon oil that has shaped American policy toward the Middle East. The other major consideration of American policy in the region is our alliance with and support of the State of Israel, the only democracy in the region. Israel and the world Jewish community have a strong interest in assuring that the values and alliances of the United States will not be compromised by its need for oil. The only way to assure complete U.S. freedom of action in the Middle East and effective support of Israel is to reduce U.S. reliance on oil.

Our dependence on oil to fuel our vehicles and drive our economy is a the heart of the conflict we now face in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Now, as we go to war against terrorism, our options are limited by our need to keep energy flowing from the Persian Gulf to fuel American vehicles and the vehicles of our major trading partners. A major factor in the U.S. interest in maintaining and developing alliances with Israelís enemies, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, is U.S. dependence on oil from the Persian Gulf.

Eliminating American dependence upon oil is a necessary strategy in the War on Terrorism.

This circumstance is not new. Recognizing the danger posed to Israel by U.S. reliance on oil from the Middle East, the Jewish community has been advocating decreased American dependence on oil for over 25 years.

There are two primary methods for reducing our reliance on imported oil - increasing domestic supply and reducing demand for oil. Because the U.S. has only 3% of the world's proven oil reserves, it is impossible for the U.S. to significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil through increasing domestic supply. Our only option is to focus efforts on reducing our demand for oil.

In recent years, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) and others in the Jewish community have focused attention on the need to develop a comprehensive national energy policy that would protect the environment and public health and lead to greater energy independence. Both of these goals can be accomplished through energy conservation and the development of non-fossil fuel based energy sources and technologies - many of which are already at hand.

Eliminating American dependence upon oil is a necessary and urgent strategy in the War on Terrorism. Energy conservation and the development of new fuels and technologies must now rise to the highest level of priority for the Congress, Administration, and American people.

In addition to oil dependence, U.S. energy policy has other important foreign policy and security implications. The more diverse and decentralized our sources of electricity are, the harder they are to sabotage. Thus, wind and solar sources that are not dependent upon fuel supply and can be located across the nation are more favorable than large power plants, particularly nuclear power plants, which are vulnerable to sabotage. As petroleum is used in only minute amounts to generate electricity in the U.S., nuclear energy cannot increase U.S. energy independence. Furthermore, not only does nuclear waste create an ongoing environmental danger to the country, nuclear plants are potential targets for terrorists, and the transport and storage of nuclear waste creates numerous opportunities for attacks.

The time for action is now. Congress must develop and adopt a comprehensive and environmentally responsible approach to increasing American energy security by reducing our reliance on oil. And each of us must take responsibility for doing what we can to reduce our consumption of oil.

“Popular opinion aside, our vulnerability to price shocks is not determined by how much oil we import...[It is determined by] how oil dependent our economy is.”

The legislative battle over drilling in the Arctic Refuge has become a huge distraction to the Congress. By continuing to focus debate on drilling in there - which is opposed by many in both parties - as a prime solution to US oil dependence, the powerful oil industry and their Congressional allies are preventing progress in taking the urgent steps that could actually improve our energy security quickly, cheaply, and cleanly.

The Arctic Refuge could produce only a small fraction of the oil that could be saved by increasing fuel efficiency.

1 National Academy of Sciences, "Effectiveness and Impact of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards," (January, 2001)

2 At $30.00 a barrel, between 3.0 and 10.4 billion barrels of oil are estimated to be economicaly recoverable from the Artic Refuge. The estimate of the total volume there is 5.7 to 16.0 billion barrels. U.S. Geological Survey, "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 1002 Area, Petroleum Assessment, 1998, Including Economic Analysis."

COEJL calls on the automobile industry to bring super-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles to market as quickly as possible, and actively promote such vehicles for purchase by the American public. Given our national security needs, the automobile and petroleum industries should work with Congress to develop policies that will lead to a rapid and successful transition to more fuel efficient vehicles.

COEJL also urges the Administration to take an active and collaborative approach to reducing the dependence of Europe, Japan, and eventually all developed economies on oil. In our globalized economy, the dependence of any large economy on foreign oil sources is an economic vulnerability for the U.S. Such an effort would also complement the commitment and interest of these countries in a global solution to global warming by leading to a substantial reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions of the U.S. and our allies.

It is our duty, as a nation, as a Jewish community, and as individuals, to take the actions we can to reduce our dependence on oil now - and to set our sights on creating a society and an economy run by clean, secure, and renewable sources of energy powering the highly efficient vehicles and appliances we know are within our capacity to develop. Not to do so would be an unforgivable abdication of our individual and collective responsibility to seek peace, pursue justice, provide for future generations, and tend the Earth of which we are a part.

In addition to the obvious value of helping to prevent future war and terrorism, there are a number of core Jewish values which should lead us to adopt an ethic of conservation - in this case energy conservation. These values were articulated in an "Open Letter to the President, Congress, and American People on Energy Conservation and God's Creation" signed by the heads of the Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Reform, and Renewal congregational bodies, rabbinical associations, and seminaries - along with over 600 rabbis across the United States. Organized as an interfaith letter, it was also signed by heads of 27 Orthodox, Protestant, and historic Black Christian denominations.

“Let There Be Light”: Energy Conservation and God's Creation
An Open Letter to the President, Congress, and American People - May, 2001 [excerpted]

Conservation and Stewardship of God's Creation
“The Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof” (Ps 24:1). In light and wind, in land and water, energy resources are abundant gifts for human well-being from our creator God. Because we are called to "till and to tend the garden" (Gen. 2:15), we have a moral obligation to choose the safest, cleanest and most sustainable sources of energy to protect and preserve God's creation. Energy conservation is faithful stewardship.

Conservation and Responsibility to Future Generations
The gifts of God's creation are to be conserved over time for God's children...Humankind has a fundamental choice of priorities for its future. By depleting energy sources, causing global warming, fouling the air with pollution, and poisoning the land with radioactive waste, a policy of increased reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear power jeopardizes health and well-being for life on Earth. On the other hand, by investing in clean technology, renewable energy, greater vehicle fuel efficiency and safer power plants we help assure sustainability for God's creation and God's justice. Energy conservation is intergenerational responsibility.

Conservation is a personal and a public virtue - a comprehensive moral value.

Conservation and Justice
The prophet Micah says “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). The gifts of God's creation must be shared fairly among God's children. Energy policy must be an instrument of social and economic justice here and abroad...Energy conservation is justice for all peoples and nations.

Conservation, Prudence, and Precaution
...We do not have to sacrifice economic security to assure environmental health. Prudence - the application of moral principle in service to the common good - should guide us to meet immediate needs in such a way as to enhance, not diminish future sustainability. And where there are genuine risks to health and well-being, the principle of precaution should guide our actions. More investment in renewable energy and fuel efficiency is now a moral imperative especially because these are technologically feasible and economically viable. Energy conservation is prudent human action.

Conservation in the Age of Global Warming
These concerns have entirely unprecedented moral urgency in the 21st century. In its reliance on fossil fuels, American energy policy is a cause of global climate change. With less than 5% of the world's population, our nation is generating more than 22% of greenhouse gas emissions...We must join in binding international agreements...which set energy conservation targets and timetables. Preventing climate change is a preeminent expression of faithfulness to our Creator God. Energy conservation is global leadership and solidarity. We call on all Americans, and particularly our own leaders and congregants, to consider carefully these values, which should guide our individual energy choices and by which we should judge energy policy options. In securing human well-being by preserving creation and promoting justice, conservation is a personal and a public virtue - a comprehensive moral value - a standard for everything we do to assure energy for a wholesome way of life. We pray that the wisdom, faith, and solidarity of the American people will bring us together - at this critical juncture - to redirect our national energy policy toward conservation, efficiency, justice, and maximum use of the perennial abundance of clean and renewable energy that our Creator brought into being by proclaiming, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3).

Unfortunately, when oil prices fell dramatically in 1986, Congress abandoned efforts to further reduce fuel economy standards. Today, our fleet of vehicles has the lowest average fuel economy since 1980. If we had continued to conserve oil at the same rate we did from 1976 to 1985, we would have needed no Persian Gulf oil after 1985. Yet today, we are importing more oil than ever from the Persian Gulf.

There continue to be enormous untapped opportunities for reducing U.S. reliance on oil. With less than 5% of the worldís population, we in the U.S. use almost 25% of the worldís energy resources. Though some of our disproportionate use is a consequence of our high economic output, the amount of energy we use to generate a dollar in our economy is substantially more than that used by our closest competitors: 34% more energy than Great Britain, 42% more than France and Germany, and 48% more than Japan. Greater fuel and energy efficiency would bring much benefit to businesses and the economy in general. Focusing America's engineering and manufacturing prowess on raising fuel economy through new technologies will provide jobs and strengthen the economy.

Our dependence upon oil from Middle Eastern nations reduces the options of the U.S. government to address threats from the region. And anticipated reliance upon oil from the Caspian Sea region will increasingly define our relationship with Central Asian republics. Recent reports indicate that even some governments of oil producing nations with whom we have close relations, such as Saudi Arabia, have been directly supporting or allowing their nationals to support the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

As many of our allies and trading partners are even more dependent upon Middle Eastern oil than is the U.S., decreasing the oil dependence of the European and Japanese economies - and eventually all developed nation economies -is equally important. In a globalized economy, a significant disruption of energy supply to any large national economy will affect all other participants in the global economy. Furthermore, because oil is traded on international commodity markets, the U.S. cannot insulate itself from price shocks even if the vast majority of our oil is produced at home. The greater our dependence on oil from any source, the greater our economic vulnerability to global supply disruptions and price shocks.

By modeling effective approaches to non-fossil fuel based energy independence for other nations and developing technologies that can be used by them, the U.S. reduces world dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

Reducing reliance on oil also will help the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, an issue of great concern to Great Britain and other close allies in the War on Terrorism. We now are aware more than ever of the need for coordinated global solutions to global challenges. The active and constructive engagement of the U.S. - the world's leading emitter of greenhouse gas pollution- in international efforts to address global warming is needed now.

Before the events of September 11th, the Administration released an energy plan with a heavy emphasis on increasing domestic production. The House passed an energy bill (HR.4) in August 2001 that also emphasizes domestic production - providing almost $30 billion in subsidies to oil and coal companies. In addition, it would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling. Neither the Administration's plan nor the House bill would meaningfully decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

In the days since September 11th, there has been increasingly broad recognition of the connections between our dependence on oil and our national security. Now is the time to develop a policy which will dramatically reduce our dependence on oil and therefore enable the U.S. to change its relations with Middle Eastern nations to improve national security.

There are two ways to reduce oil dependence: increase domestic supply, and decrease demand. Because of very limited domestic reserves - the U.S. has only 3% of proven world oil reserves - our only effective option is to reduce demand and therefore dependence on oil from all sources.

Therefore, energy conservation and the development of new fuels and technologies must now rise to the highest level of priority for the U.S. Congress and Administration and the American people. Both the government and every citizen can and should take action to help conserve energy and reduce our reliance on oil.

Energy policy has far-reaching impacts. Therefore, it must be developed through a deliberative process and not as a rushed reaction to the events of September 11. We call on Congress to adopt an energy security plan with the following core elements:

Industry has a vital role to play as well. We call on the automobile industry to work to bring super-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles to market as quickly as possible, and actively promote such vehicles for purchase by the American public. Given our national security needs, the automobile and petroleum industries should work with Congress to develop policies that will lead to a rapid and successful transition to more fuel efficient vehicles.

Finally, we call on each and every person and institution to help by: