Bean, Greenberg square off on energy

Any congressional candidate will tell you gasoline prices should be lower, and the U.S. needs to reduce its reliance on foreign oil.

Where they differ, however, is how they plan to accomplish those tasks.

In Illinois' 8th House District, Democratic Rep. Melissa Bean has favored increased oil drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. But she opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a roughly 19-million-acre area in northeastern Alaska protected by the federal government.

Republican challenger Steve Greenberg supports lifting the ban on offshore production and exploration in that wildlife refuge.

Greenberg says such a move will drive down energy prices immediately; Bean said "there's no silver bullet" that would lower gasoline prices sharply overnight.

Bean and Greenberg fielded questions about the economy and other topics in questionnaires for the Daily Herald and subsequent interviews.

Bean, of Barrington, is seeking a third term representing the district, which includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

Bean supports legislation that passed the House and now is in the Senate that would temporarily release 70 million barrels of crude from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an emergency supply maintained by the U.S. Energy Department, saying it would bring relief at the pump.

That proposal also would open more of the outer continental shelf to drilling and require other steps that would contribute to a long-term energy plan, such as requiring 15 percent of the nation's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, Bean said.

"I support a balanced approach that increased our investment in, and incentives for, conservation, renewable and alternative energy sources and increased expansion of on- and offshore drilling," Bean said.

She said the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a 23-million-acre area on Alaska's North Slope, is one potential site for increased drilling, and has voted accordingly.

Wind, solar and geothermal energy should be part of the country's energy plan, Bean said. So should alternative fuels such as ethanol and cellulosic ethanol, which is made from wheat or other grassy materials rather than corn, she said.

Bean generally supports nuclear power but says new technology must be developed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel.

Greenberg, a business owner and former minor-league hockey player from Long Grove, is seeking public office for the first time.

He strongly backs increased domestic exploration for oil, including in the arctic reserve, and expanded refining capacity. Greenberg also believes more nuclear power plants should be built.

"While it will take several years for these new energy sources to contribute to America's energy supply, their future existence will drive down energy prices immediately," he said.

Greenberg isn't a big fan of ethanol, calling it simply "a step toward" alternative energy. Like Bean, he backs the production of cellulosic ethanol; Greenberg also supports the development of biodiesel fuel made from algae.

Money from oil companies can help, he said.

"We need to reinvest revenues received from selling land leases to oil companies into clean and safe energy alternatives, moving our nation toward a long-term solution without costing taxpayers a dime," he said.