With the cost of gasoline skyrocketing and the President urging passage of a new national energy bill in Congress, the question of how and where we get the energy that powers our cars and keeps our lights becomes urgent. Some argue that passing this national energy bill will ease the financial strain of rising energy costs and assure our national security through oil independence. However, proposed oil drilling in Alaska's pristine wilderness and off our coastlines is generating controversy. What does the energy bill look like? Would drilling relieve the strain on our oil, gas, and electricity needs? For how long?

• The bill heavily benefits traditional energy industries including coal, oil and natural gas companies.
  
  
• Under the best circumstances the proposed Arctic Refuge drilling could only supply us with a little over a year and a half worth of oil.

Gasoline may be the most visible of our energy needs - but natural gas and coal burning generates most of our electricity. Current demands are driving up costs and increasing chance of blackouts. In Wyoming the governor has promised to build a new coal fired plant that will deliver energy through hundreds of miles of power lines to the west coast. The most polluting of all energy sources, coal is also one of the most domestically abundant. New technology may make coal burning safer, but at what cost? What is the impact of extracting coal and natural gas in the western states? What is "clean coal?"

• None of the 35 new plants proposed in the western states will utilize the newest "clean coal" technologies in producing energy for states like California, which has some of the strictest energy emissions standards in the country.

The US once led the world in creation of new renewable energy technologies, now we lag behind the pack in development and implementation of alternative energy sources. Yet individual ranchers and farmers in the west are reaping the financial rewards of wind turbines in cow pastures and fallow fields. Consumers are beginning to demand hybrid gas/electric vehicles made by Ford, Honda and Toyota in record numbers. What would a new energy economy based on renewables look like? Can we be competitive in a global market without heavier investment in renewables and efficiency?

• In the proposed energy bill, less than $500 million in tax incentives are directed at renewable energy and efficiency programs.
  
  
• A decrease of only 1% in industrial energy use would save the equivalent of about 55 million barrels of oil per year, worth about $1 billion.
  
  
• An assessment done by researchers at UC Berkley found that the renewable energy industry could create as many as 240,000 new jobs by 2020, versus no more than 75,000 new jobs if the country sticks to fossil fuels.

What do they need to do in Washington to make sure America has an energy policy that reflects the demands of a new century? How much energy can we expect to get out of new oil and natural gas drilling? How long will it take to reach the market? How much time do we have before our domestic supplies run out? How has competition for foreign oil affected prices? Can we preserve the county's national beauty while meeting our energy needs? Could we eliminate the need for oil drilling with hybrid and alternative automobile technology? If we continue to rely on coal for energy how can we make it clean? Where will the new coal plants be built and are they clean? How do we make hybrid and alternative energy technology more affordable, available and attractive to consumers? Are there places where alternative energy is working? Can new jobs and markets be created in new energy sources and efficient technologies? Is there another model of energy generation other than large scale vulnerable central power generation? What parts of the country would benefit from investing in renewable energy? What can individuals do to reduce energy use?

Talking Points