Energy policy was the focus of 10th District U. S. Rep. Patrick McHenry's town hall meeting Friday evening. The congressman, who is touring his district this month while Congress is in recess, spoke to a crowd of about 20 people at Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy.
 
McHenry told the audience that there is no one answer to dealing with the nation's energy crisis, but he said there are a number of ways to help solve the problem.
 
The Republican congressman said it is clearly a crisis when Americans are relieved that the national average gasoline price has come down to $3.71."  That's flat ridiculous," he said.
 
McHenry noted that 95 percent of 10th District residents drive to work. To illustrate the pain being felt by drivers, he said that the yearly cost of fuel has risen from an average of about $1,400 in 2003 to more than $4,600 today.
 
McHenry said that the United States accounts for 24 percent of the world's oil consumption, and "our usage of energy will keep rising." He offered a number of options for cutting U. S. reliance on imported foreign petroleum.
 
"We have vast reserves of coal," he noted, "and it's cleaner and cleaner and cleaner. We should use it." He pointed to Duke Energy's Cliffside Steam Station as an example of a coal-fired facility. Later in his talk, he commented that "We are the Saudi Arabia of coal."
 
McHenry also urged more production and use of natural gas, which, he said, is a big deal for manufacturing. Pointing to a graph, he said that alternative energy accounted for only 9.42 percent of U. S. energy production in 2007.”  We need to grow that slice of the pie," he said.
 
McHenry said that oil prices are high because supply is down and demand is up. Demand is up, he noted, because of such factors as the rapidly rising middle class in India and China.
 
The solution for America's energy crisis, the congressman said, is a balanced new energy policy, conservation, alternative energy sources and an increase in the U. S. energy supply.
 
He commented about conservation that U. S. oil demand declined 3 percent in the first half of 2008 because of improved fuel efficiency.
 
McHenry called for a 21st century Manhattan Project for tackling the energy crisis. The Manhattan Project was the secret scientific effort to develop the first atomic bomb during World War II.
 
A key, he said, is providing incentives for small business to find innovative solutions.
 
He commented that hydroelectric, or water- generated power, accounts for only 3.5 percent of North Carolina's energy, but is 80 percent of Washington State's energy.
 
Likewise, he said wind energy should be encouraged and incentivized McHenry said North Carolina wind installations could produce 8 percent of the state's electric consumption.
 
Solar energy should also be increased, he said, from its current .11 percent share of U. S. energy production. And he cited an Israeli public/private project that provides incentives for using electric cars, such as encouraging the private enterprise of battery exchange sites.
 
Nuclear energy, McHenry commented, produces 31.9 percent of North Carolina energy, and he encouraged Congress to eliminate barriers to nuclear energy expansion.  He noted that South Korea has more nuclear power than the United States does, and he cited French steps to recycle nuclear waste.
 
The congressman called for opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for energy production. He said the desolate area is roughly the size of South Carolina, but the drilling area needed to tap that region's 18 billion barrels of oil would be about the size of the Charlotte Airport.
 
Oil from there could be routed through the Alaska Pipeline, he said.
 
It is such a vast reserve, he said, that it is "enough oil to power over 60 million cars for 60 years."
 
Similarly, he said, natural gas reserves in the country are vast, at 650.9 trillion cubic feet, enough natural gas to heat 60 million homes for 160 years.
 
He said offshore drilling is environmentally sound, noting that 168 oil platforms were damaged or destroyed by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, yet the oil remained safe because the wells were capped before the storms hit.
 
McHenry also called for an increase in the production of oil shale, which he likened to an "oil rock," in which technology is used to separate the oil from the rock.
 
He urged an increase in refining capacity, too, saying the United States has not built an oil refinery since 1976.
 
McHenry criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying, "Speaker Pelosi has said 'I want to save the planet.' If she wants to save the planet, let Americans do it."  He noted that the foreign producers the United States depends on are known for corruption and pollution.
 
Republicans seek a discharge petition to bypass Speaker Pelosi and take an energy bill directly to the House floor, McHenry said.  But because Republicans are in the minority, it will take some Democratic support to succeed with the discharge petition.
 
"It will take Democrats with backbone to stand up to her," McHenry said.
 
A discharge petition is a move to take a bill out of committee and place it on the floor, usually without the cooperation of the leadership.
 
After his talk, McHenry took questions and comments from the audience.