Energy is the single most powerful engine of growth and prosperity in our society today.  This is easily illustrated by witnessing how the sharp rise and fall in U.S. energy prices over the past year has affected America’s economy.  Recognizing the direct connection between energy and the national economy, the Obama Administration’s economic stimulus plan contains a number of energy recommendations designed to lessen America’s dependence on foreign oil and create jobs.  

While the U.S. is primarily concerned with oil and gasoline price instability, this is just part of the problem.  Our nation’s volatile natural gas prices over the past two decades have resulted in a net loss of 120,000 well-paying chemical industry jobs and more than three million jobs in the nation’s manufacturing sector. As a result, the chemical industry has gone from a $19 billion trade surplus in 1997 to becoming a net importer of chemicals from 2001-2007.

It is worth noting that during the mid 2008 high energy price peak, the US was on track to spend more than $500 billion per year to import oil.   This flight of dollars overseas for energy has undermined our ability to respond to the current global financial crisis and will invariably slow our response. 

As we transition to a low-carbon future, our US economy and security are dependent upon energy.  Without a national comprehensive energy policy, the US is at risk to further suffer from the current global financial crisis and recession.

Our view at The Dow Chemical Company is that we need a comprehensive national energy policy that is bolder and bipartisan. Bolder because we have seen that the half measures Congress has passed in recent years aren't enough, and bipartisan because there is too much at stake to make this a partisan issue designed to appeal to a narrow set of constituencies. 

Dow believes any comprehensive energy policy must achieve these eight goals:

Encourage aggressive energy efficiency and conservation
Speed more renewable energy to market
Encourage more domestic oil and gas production
Optimize the carbon efficiency of coal
Prove the viability of carbon capture and storage
Accelerate the deployment of nuclear technology
Develop and deploy advanced energy storage technology for automotive and stationary applications.
Recognize from the outset the interrelationship between energy policy and climate solutions

For more information, read Dow's Energy Plan.