If you want America to be energy independent of imports other than from Canada and Mexico, you need to develop our fossil fuel resources, our pipeline infrastructure and our refining capacity.

Concurrently, you need to invest in the production of man-made carbon fuels like algae produced biodiesel. Figuring out how to ultimately replace fossil fuel with domestically "manufactured" carbon fuel.

Second, you need an aggressive nuclear program. The new smaller nuclear generating technology is far safer. We power our subs and aircraft carriers with small nuclear power "plants" why not our cities?

We need to promote distributed solar energy and energy production. The grid is simply not designed, and it makes America far too vulnerable to rely on the grid for more of our energy needs.

Instead of rural solar and wind farms, solar should be deployed on rooftops and parking lots and delivered as close to the production site as possible to reduce the grid demand.

But we need to take US energy policy out of the hands of prejudiced bureaucrats and environmentalists and put it in the hands of engineers. Bureaucrats and environmentalists have a role to play, but not to lead our efforts if we want energy independence.

If this sounds extreme, if you needed open heart surgery, who would you put in charge of the procedure... a cardiovascular surgeon, a hospital administrator, or the head of the hospital's medical ethics department? All those individuals have a role to play, but the cardiac surgeon is the one you want wielding the knife.