Former CIA chief pushes renewable energy, Ex-CIA head: Alternative fuels needed, Biodiesel plant planned for Vernon County

Former CIA chief pushes renewable energy
Eyewitness News - East Providence,RI,USA
... oil. Instead, Woolsey says the US should focus on producing ethanol and biodiesel fuels and promoting the use of hybrid vehicles. ...

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) -- Former C-I-A Chief James Woolsey is speaking in Newport today in support of renewable energy.

The former spy chief says the United States could diminish terrorism if it reduced its demand for foreign oil. Instead, Woolsey says the U-S should focus on producing ethanol and biodiesel fuels and promoting the use of hybrid vehicles.

Woolsey will be speaking at Save the Bay’s 36th annual meeting. Governor Carcieri and members of the state’s Congressional delegation are expected to attend.

Woolsey led the C-I-A from 1993 to 1995.

Ex-CIA head: Alternative fuels needed
Kalamazoo Gazette - Kalamazoo,MI,USA
... The United States should invest in the bio-fuel industry so drivers have fuel options, such as ethanol, biodiesel and others, when they pull into a gas station ...

Sunday, April 2, 2006
By Ben Lando
Special to the Gazette

Soldiers in Nigeria are being pulled from guarding oil refineries to fight a growing rebellion, prompting pump prices in the United States to spike above $3 a gallon amid concerns for the country's petroleum supply.

The president and his cabinet discussed three options: Accept more Saudi Arabian oil in exchange for ignoring human-rights abuse there, dip into oil reserves here or use the U.S. military to intervene in the dispute.

Although the scenario was fake -- acted out by former CIA Director R. James Woolsey as the president (his cabinet was portrayed by Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University students and alumni) -- it is plausible today and so are the consequences, Woolsey cautioned.

``A cutoff of oil, even a brief one, sends huge shocks through our economy and the overall international trade system,'' Woolsey said in his keynote address at the PowerShift energy security conference Saturday at WMU's Fetzer Center.

The Kalamazoo event was the first of six nationwide organized by the nonprofit policy group 20/20 Vision. Its goal is to educate citizens about the threat America's oil dependence has on national security, economy, environment and outline options for changing the situation.

Woolsey, who was director of the CIA from 1993 to 1995 and who served posts in the Reagan and first Bush administrations, focused on issues of U.S. oil consumption and dependence for the Virginia-based consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.

Although his speech focused on national security and terrorism, he said any interruption in the oil supply to the U.S. -- be it weather-related, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last fall that halted Gulf oil production, or a terrorist attack on a major oil pipeline -- would highlight the need to wean ourselves off oil.

According to the Department of Energy, the United States imported most of its 13.5 million barrels of oil a day last year from Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria, in that order. The transportation sector eats up most of the oil, which is why 20/20 Vision is focusing on reducing consumption.

It's calling on Congress to enact a national policy goal of reducing oil consumption by 2.5 million barrels a day during the next 10 years.

To do so, it wants a hike in gas-mileage standards, financial incentives to the auto industry for producing more efficient vehicles and tax breaks for consumers who buy those that run on alternative fuels, Woolsey said. The United States should invest in the bio-fuel industry so drivers have fuel options, such as ethanol, biodiesel and others, when they pull into a gas station, according to Woolsey.

And governments on all levels need to encourage effective mass-transit systems and communities that require less driving and more walking and biking, he added.

Woolsey, who owns two hybrid cars and plans to buy a biodiesel truck, said if global warming isn't a reality now, it's a serious risk that can cause serious damage.

``We've got to buckle down and get something done quickly,'' he said.

Biodiesel plant planned for Vernon County
Columbia Daily Tribune - Columbia,MO,USA
NEVADA, Mo. (AP) - More than a thousand farmers in southwest Missouri have pledged enough money to build a biodiesel plant in Vernon County. ...