I'll have a future. Hold the oil please.

The following is a guest post by KC Golden, Policy Director at Climate Solutions, a Washington State-based environmental organization and 1Sky ally. -- Luis

Polls reportedly show that a majority of Americans favor offshore oil drilling as a way to address high gas prices.

Huh? How can this be?

Do we really believe that prolonging fossil fuel dependence will take us anywhere other than national insecurity, economic decline, and climate collapse? Is our current energy strategy working so well that we just want more of the same? Do most of us think that finding more supply is an effective treatment for petroleum addiction?

I just can’t buy that. So what explains these poll results?

Well, let’s start by questioning whether polling the stuffing out of Americans is really the best way to elicit our wisdom. We’ve been polled up one side and down the other by opinion professionals who can design a question to produce whatever result the client wants.

Say the question was, “Do you favor more oil drilling as a way to reduce gas prices?” It hardly matters what comes between “favor” and “as a way…”. The default response is, “Well, for Pete’s sake, let’s do something.” Most of us would probably favor cold spam sandwiches for breakfast if we thought they would reduce gas prices.

The good news is that Americans favor real energy solutions – conservation, renewable energy, better transportation choices – by even wider margins than they purportedly favor oil drilling. So, the message in short: “We want action to address our deteriorating energy situation. A different strategy would be best, but we’ll even settle for more fossil fuels if you can’t come up with anything smarter. Just do something.”

The desperation of this cry for solutions runs parallel to our nation’s failure of leadership in energy policy. Since Ronald Reagan took office in 1980 and slashed clean energy research and development, our “leaders” just plain haven’t. We’ve been crawling across a desert of short-sightedness for nearly three decades, waiting for the inevitable implosion of the fossil fuel economy. Well, here it is, and now we’re practically begging our leaders to wake up and do something about it.

I have to believe that most Americans would see expanded offshore drilling for what it is – a futile attempt to drill our way out of the hole that we drilled ourselves into – if we had leaders who would stand tall, tell us the truth, and deliver a bold clean energy transition program for America.

In the absence of that leadership, though, it’s hard to believe. The niche for clean energy is clearly growing, but many folks still see it as a side dish, not the entree of our energy program.

So, I’m here to tell you, we can order up a clean energy future right now – not just an appetizer, but the full meal deal. In Washington State, we’re already well on our way, with renewable hydropower making up our base power supply and conservation, wind, and solar as our biggest new power investments. And there’s a whole Saudi Arabia’s worth of energy savings to be had when we drill deep into our conservation reserves (the energy we waste in our cars and buildings).

I’ve been doing energy work my whole adult life, and I’m absolutely convinced that we have reached the tipping point. Fossil fuel dependence has hit a rude dead end, and clean energy innovation and investment is skyrocketing. We are turning, and we need to lean into it with everything we’ve got.

Still skeptical? Think of it this way: Are we more likely to leave our kids a secure and sustainable future by waging a clean energy revolution now, or by waiting and wallowing and slipping deeper into fossil fuel dependence?

Wanna believe in a brighter energy future? Wanna act on that belief? Then join the movement today!

PS: To learn more, check out these two great books: Apollo’s Fire by Congressman Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks, and Tom Friedman’s Hot, Flat, and Crowded.