03/06/07 Overall Energy Picture

Looking at the overall energy picture. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. The U.S. currently gets 60-percent of its energy supply from foreign suppliers. And according to one petroleum industry spokesperson - that likely won't change anytime soon. In fact - the President of the American Petroleum Industry Red Cavaney says the story will likely be the same 23 years from now. Plus - he says it is unlikely the U.S. will ever be totally independent of the need for foreign oil. But he says there are three ways the industry can provide energy security. CAVANEY: Efficiency, technology & diversity. First America`s energy companies must continue to improve their energy efficiency and encourage energy efficiency in other industries as well as by the American people themselves. Second, we must increase the use of advanced energy technologies and third, we must increase the diversity of our oil and natural gas supplies. Reality TV has been a big hit for a number of years now - with shows like Survivor, the Apprentice and American Idol raking in the ratings. But according to the President and CEO of CHS Inc. John Johnson - who spoke at USDA`s Ag Outlook Forum - renewable energy ranks right up there with those reality hits. JOHNSON: You know if American Idol is the most watched television program in the country, I think it`s fair to say global warming and renewable fuels are now among the most watched topics in our nation. But Johnson says energy prices are volatile - highlighting the need for incentives for continued production - as well as the development and adoption of new technologies. JOHNSON: This is clearly a need for our government to incourage our nations energy producers as well as energy users to adopt fuels. And we support that. We support usage goals and have been active on the 25x`25 coalition, but alse we recognize that mandates alone are not a clear path to energy independence. Ahead of a Senate Finance Committee hearing on America's energy future - Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley - the committee's Ranking Member - expressed that no energy plan is complete if it doesn't include energy conservation. Greg Page - the next CEO for Cargill - supported that idea at USDA's Ag Outlook Forum - telling attendees that there are a number of seemingly small things each American can do to save gasoline. PAGE: My attention was drawn last week to some research done by academics in California that if we all simply inflated our tires to the appropriate pressure, we`d all save about 7 billion gallons. And so when you think that we are here dealing with an enormous issue for the world, in fact just checking our tire pressure could have an impact similar in size to the current size of our biofuels industry points out that there are many components that need to be pulled together to make America more energy secure. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.