A Declaration of Energy Independence

Jay Hakes was head of the Energy Information Administration at the U.S. Department of Energy from 1993 to 2000, where he oversaw the collec-tion and dissemination of America's official energy data and analysis. He has given testimony before congressional committees on more than twenty-five occasions and is currently head of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta.

Introduction: Why Energy Independence Matters More Than Iraq . PART ONE: The Problem of America's Energy Dependence. Chapter 1: America's Plunge into Reliance on Foreign Oil. Chapter 2: A Forgotten Victory Gives Hope: How America Solved Its Last Energy Crisis and Cut Oil Imports in Half. Chapter 3: Lapsing Back into Oil Addiction: Retreating from Battle under Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Bush. Chapter 4: Blood and Treasure: The Heavy Cost of Dependence on Middle East Oil. Chapter 5: Fossil Fuels and Global Warming: A Dangerous Experiment with the Planet. Chapter 6: The Magic and Limits of Market-Based Solutions. Chapter 7: Seeing through the Ideological Blinders (of the Right and the Left). PART TWO: Seven Economically and Politically Viable Paths to Energy Independence. Chapter 8: Solution One: Store Massive Emergency Reserves. Chapter 9: Solution Two: Drive the Car of the Future. Chapter 10: Solution Three: Bring Alternative Fuels to Market. Chapter 11: Solution Four: Plug into an Electric Future. Chapter 12: Solution Five: Adopt Energy Taxes Liberals and Conservatives Can Like. Chapter 13: Solution Six: Make Energy Conservation a Patriotic Duty. Chapter 14: Solution Seven: Throw Some "Hail Marys". PART THREE: Securing Our National Future. Chapter 15: What We Need from National Leaders (and from Voters). Acknowledgments. Notes. Index.