The battle within is about energy independence

The June 20 Forum piece by Donald Gibbon was spot-on in its indictment of us all for what's happening in the Gulf ("BP Did It for Us"). We are the addicts that demand that companies like BP find the oil to feed our addiction. If we had continued to act positively in the wake of the first oil crisis of the '70s, we would have been so much further ahead in the present.

I am firm in the belief that we have entered a new cold war period in American history, only this time we are at war with ourselves. On one side are those who would leave things as they are, with the country dependent upon fossil fuels. On the other side are those, like myself, who hold that the future -- and perhaps the very survival of the human race -- lies with efficiency and renewable energy sources.

The threats posed by petro-politics and climate change necessitate our embracing renewable technologies, and we should support President Barack Obama in his effort to reverse decades of neglecting a problem that will only get worse.

TIM KELLY
Aleppo