'Dependence Day' deplored

Activists mark date U.S. begins to rely on foreign oil in '06

Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 1, 2006 at midnight

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A coalition of environmental and labor groups decried "Dependence Day" on Wednesday, the day they said the United States begins its dependence on foreign imports of oil for the rest of 2006.

Highlighting the fact that America imports 59 percent of its petroleum, activists gathered on the west steps of the state Capitol to pressure lawmakers and the public to take more significant action to reduce the country's oil consumption and more aggressively pursue alternative sources of energy.

From today forward, the group said in a statement, the country effectively becomes completely dependent on foreign oil for the rest of the year, much of it coming from countries that are "unstable, undemocratic or openly hostile to the U.S."

"America's addiction to oil is one of our greatest threats," said Dan Stafford, Western states field organizer for the group Environmental Action. "We have to stop feeding this addiction by pandering to the big oil companies and oil-rich countries, and instead clean up our act."

If the country doesn't cut its reliance on foreign oil, the day will be marked sooner and sooner over the coming years, the activists said - as early as April by the year 2025.

The news conference was one of three throughout the country to mark the first Dependence Day. The coalition holding the Denver event included the Apollo Alliance, an organization that describes itself as a coalition of business, labor and civil rights groups, Environmental Action and Environment Colorado.

Members emphasized that they weren't there only to highlight the problem but to outline solutions.

Activists said the United States must use oil more efficiently, in part by buying more fuel-efficient cars; encourage the development of biofuels, noting that by 2050 such fuels could offset 40 percent of our current oil consumption; and put more emphasis on public transportation and development centered around transit. The groups highlighted the metro area's FasTracks project as an example of a promising project to cut fuel consumption.

In addition, the coalition called for Congress to pass the Vehicle and Fuel Choices for American Security Act, a bill with bipartisan backing that establishes a target of reducing the country's oil consumption by 2.5 million barrels a day by 2016, with more stringent targets in later years. The bill also would take steps to help manufacturers produce more fuel-efficient cars and give a boost to alternative fuels.

At the same time, activists said that politicians calling for more domestic drilling off coastlines and within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were creating a red herring. The United States, they said, holds less than 2 percent of the world's petroleum supplies, not nearly enough to make a significant difference into the future.

Jack Rigg, a Denver-based spokesman for the energy company BP America, said BP "certainly agrees that we have to do everything we can to conserve in the United States and to make sure we're exploring appropriate alternative energy sources."

To cite examples, Rigg outlined a long list of domestic natural gas projects BP is pursuing, including $3 billion worth of investments in Wyoming and $1 billion in southwestern Colorado.

hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5048

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