U.S. Oil Addiction: Research Isn't Enough

. Bush promised more federal energy research, primarily into technologies that might reduce America's fossil fuel dependence years from now. But he rejected the common-sense measures that could bring immediate improvements and maximize the long-term benefits of the new research. The Bush plan did contain environmentally friendly measures that Democrats have ignored in their shrill denunciations of it...But they are not sufficient â€" not even close...

Relying on the market alone to wean America from oil is like trying to deliver an international letter by dropping it in the ocean, hoping the tide will carry it to the correct address. Washington needs to establish a clear direction, using all the tools at its disposal, from research subsidies to federal procurement and regulatory mandates."