Energy Independence

So Mr Bush finally is saying those magical words about Energy Independence with some vigor; at least in rhetoric. His state of the union spent some time discussing this. Some sections of the press have attribute this to mean that White House is finally agreeing to the public opinion on Global Warming. However I think White House policy on Energy Independence has nothing to do with Global Warming.

If one looks at the pressure on oil, it is clear that it is on the rise. China and India are competing with US for this. Though China and India consume significantly less than US, their rates of increase are significant. Also new oil finds are becoming fewer by the year. And last if one looks at the nations with any significant oil reserves, apart from Saudi Arabia and Iraq (long term relations of Iraq with US are uncertain), none of the other nations (including Iran, Russia, Venezuela) have anything like a friendly relationship with US. Also China is on the move where the US dreads to thread in places like Sudan, where China is building relations with these countries; completely ignoring their human rights record.

So it makes perfect sense for the US to start thinking Energy Independence. However the emphasis is on Bio-Diesel rather than other natural resources. I am not sure how this pans out. This would mean that US may start becoming more dependent on corn and soy imports from places like Brazil and Mexico and guess what; this would mean bringing more land under cultivation in places like Brazil, as growing soy becomes more lucrative, putting more pressure on already dwindling rain forests.

Therefore I think energy independence while good doesnot necessarily mean supportive policies on global warming. One needs to be careful at arriving at these conclusions. While the carbon footprint may reduce by switching from Oil to Bio-diesel I wonder if this takes land usage into account if one replaces Oil. There has to be a balance between Bio-Diesel and other forms of energy (Solar, Wind etc). Also what about policies in China and India, and how will US influence their policies, for if the US is serious about Global Warming then it needs to take a leadership role and influence policies in those countries for measures against Global Warming to be truely effective.