Land of the Oil Free? Redefining the American Way of Life

It took only a quick glance at the guts of the blasted, black-charred remains of the World Trade Center to immediately agree with President Bush that the Sept. 11 attacks were a direct strike at what he called "the American way of life."

Bush's assessment, meant to stir public passion and lay the political foundation for a sustained military campaign to eradicate global terrorism, has also had another, quite different effect. Spurred by the president's regular reference, the American way of life is suddenly the focus of new public scrutiny and a substantive national discussion about who we are and how we live.

With so many Americans dead on their own soil, the terrorist attack in effect opened a new chapter in a decades-old skirmish about the real meaning of national security and the consequences of a way of life based on the profligate use of oil and other natural resources.

The debate, which has taken on unprecedented urgency, could dramatically reshape American politics and economics, perhaps as soon as the 2002 mid-term election. Moreover, say theorists on all sides of the dispute, never before has the environmental community had the opportunity to play such an influential role in deciding the outcome. The reason: To the extent the horrendous attacks were prompted by America's oil dependency and its unwelcome presence in the Middle East, the environmentalists' vision of a more energy-efficient, less resource-dependent way of life is the most cogent long-term response yet put forward about how to truly strengthen national security.

If something heartening has come out of the Sept. 11 tragedies, it is that this vision is no longer limited to environmentalists. With energy security on everyone's mind, solutions that have long been advocated by environmentalists -- renewable and alternative energy sources, and dispersed as opposed to centralized generation -- are suddenly being touted even by some who have generally been far from eco-friendly.

That also takes into account the Bush Administration itself. In mid-January, 2002, for instance, U.S. Energy Secretary Spence Abraham returned to his home state of Michigan to tout Freedom Car, a new collaboration between the government and automakers to develop cars powered by hydrogen. Abraham was effusive in his vision of a more secure nation whisking around the countryside in nonpolluting cars and trucks.

Critics, among them prominent newspaper editorialists, immediately noted that developing a new fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles was probably a generation away, and that the Administration's plan's real effect was to scrap the $1.5 billion Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. That was a nine-year old Clinton-era program to develop by 2004 hybrid electric vehicles capable of getting 80 miles per gallon. Said the St. Paul Pioneer Press in an editorial on January 15 the Administration's announcement was a "bait and switch" adding that "the abrupt dismissal of high-mileage vehicle research for the near term has all the markings of a political stall."

Still, environmentalists can take credit both for the Administration's sensitivity to how to market the hydrogen fueled vehicles and the widespread criticism. Movement leaders have been thinking about the foreign and domestic consequences of U.S. energy policy for years; in the wake of Sept. 11, they mobilized fast to share those thoughts with the public. Even some conservatives were impressed.

"The ability of the environmental community to regroup after Sept. 11, and regain momentum around the debate over energy in particular, shows confidence and sophistication in reaching a national audience," said Fred Smith, president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, an influential Washington, D.C.-based libertarian research and policy organization. "It shows a skill level that is admirable."