From the Lovington Leader---A Slippery Slope. John Hofmeister, former president of Shell Oil Co., will make a special presentation tonight (Tuesday) about the future of energy in the 21st century at 6:30 p.m. at Tydings Auditorium in Hobbs. Hofmeister is here at the invitation of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy (NMCEP) which has offices on the NMJC campus and New Mexico Tech campus.

Hofmeister will present a one-hour talk titled “Affordable Energy in the 21st Century: Enablers and Disablers.” The talk will be followed by an open dialog about the future of energy in America.

NMCEP expert Dr. Daniel Fine to the Leader that Hofmeister will have an assessment of the House of Representative version of the Cap and Trade bill and also an update on what is happening in the Senate. “The review will be one which is sensible and tough,” said Fine.

After retiring from Shell in 2008, Hofmeister founded the non-profit group, Citizens for Affordable Energy. This Washington, D.C.-based public policy firm promotes sound U.S. energy security solutions for the nation. Hofmeister's organization aims to facilitate discussion and action on finding affordable energy supplies, efficiency improvements, essential infrastructure, sustainable environmental policies and public education.

“If the nation continues on its present course affordable energy is but a memory,” Hofmeister said. “The nation's economic competitiveness, energy security, lifestyle choices, national defense and environmental security are at risk.”

His presentation will focus on the nation's energy policies and how industry and government leaders can adopt new priorities to secure a clear vision of energy in America and around the world.

“Forty years of partisan politics and dysfunctional public policy has brought the nation to its current predicament,” he said. “There are solutions but they require fundamental changes in the way public policy is set. The reality is the nation has more energy than it will ever need. If it can be produced, it will be affordable forever.”

Hofmeister said his organization is not a lobbying firm, but an educational group that stresses four action plans:

• Availability: more energy from more sources
• Efficiency: more technology and innovation to maximize energy output
• Stewardship: stronger environmental protection and policies
• Infrastructure: new methods of delivering energy from industry to consumers.

“We can talk about it forever, but we have to have a plan,” he said. “There is no shortage of energy. We have more than enough energy to meet our needs for the history of the Earth. We have manmade problems that get in the way of using that energy … We are determined to solve these manmade problems that prevent affordability and availability.”