THE ENERGY OPPORTUNITY - The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle for America's Future - page 199

instance, fuel economy standards that look like home runs with four
dollar a gallon gasoline may turn out to be foolish in a world where
gasoline costs only two dollars instead. Moreover, in some cases, gov-
ernment simply lacks the resources and political l exibility to make
good decisions; investing large sums of money in individual energy
companies in an at empt to spur technology development may be one
instance. h is problem is exacerbated when top policymakers are asked
to make too many energy decisions. Busy leaders who are overwhelmed
with overly long lists of decisions to make are unlikely to produce good
policy.
h e solution is a strategy that increases opportunity while protect-
ing against important risks. Government should expand opportunities
to develop new energy supplies of all kinds (old and new) through its
approach to permit ing and access to land, and by encouraging technol-
ogy development. Policies constraining supplies should be restricted to
those that aim to limit local environmental harm; they should not be
wielded in a quixotic ef ort to solve national economic, security, and
climate problems. h ose national goals should be tackled by focusing
on the demand side of the equation, with government taking steps to
deter dangerous activities, be they excessive carbon dioxide emissions
or oil consumption—things that markets can't handle alone.
One might call this a most-of-the-above strategy: it embraces a broad
set of energy opportunities but is still discriminating. Leaders should
follow four rules that l esh this out as they aim to capitalize on the
unfolding revolutions in American energy: build a diverse and resilient
energy portfolio, focus on big wins, empower energy development, and
leverage gains at home to make progress abroad.
Build a Diverse and Resilient Energy Portfolio
Uncertainty is a dominant feature of the American energy landscape.
We know many things well: natural gas is far more abundant than most
people recently assumed, U.S. oil output has the potential to grow con-
siderably, ei cient cars are becoming more af ordable every year, and
the cost of alternative energy, even though still higher than that of fossil
fuels, is on the decline. We also know that high and volatile oil prices