Much of this week’s energy news seemed to be unsurprising continuations of stories we have been following for some time.  E&E’s Greenwire (subscription required) reported yesterday that Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and fellow coal-state members are continuing apace with their effort to block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.  We learned that the U.S. Post Office will begin an electric vehicle pilot program in the nation’s capital, the Financial Times reported that “Electric Vehicle excitement keeps growing,” and Reuters told us that the CEO of Shell “expects electricity-powered vehicles to account for as much as 40 percent of the worldwide car market by 2050.”  The almost day-to-day back and forth on climate legislation continues (as reported in this space yesterday), with some—particularly energy security stalwart Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND)—continuing to push for an energy-only approach.

To those of us who closely follow the energy debate in Washington, these are interesting stories, particularly the growing enthusiasm for an electric car fleet.  But looking at these headlines, someone who is not closely tied in to any or all of these issues could be forgiven for asking, “so what?”  Some of these debates just seem like they’ve been going on and on, as they always do in Washington.

Except this issue matters, as another headline reminded us this week.  “Singapore bolsters security over terrorist threat,” the AP reported yesterday:

“Singapore raised its security alert and bolstered its defenses Friday after receiving information of a terrorist plot to attack vessels off the coast of the city-state in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, a Cabinet minister said.

“Malaysia and Indonesia have also stepped up maritime and air patrols in the Malacca Strait, where millions of barrels of oil pass daily. Singapore’s navy warned Thursday that a terrorist group was planning attacks on oil tankers and other vessels but provided no details.”

“The Singapore navy said Thursday that small fishing boats or speedboats were used in past successful terrorist attacks against ships, and these kinds of vessels could be used in the Malacca Strait.

“The strait, which is 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) at its narrowest point, is formed by the west coast of Malaysia and the east coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island. Singapore, one of the world’s busiest ports, lies at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula along the strait. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, 15 million barrels of oil a day passed through the strait in 2006.”

This is the danger, and it is a very real one.  A single successful attack by a handful of terrorist in a speed boat could close off 15 million barrels of oil a day, oil that the United States and indeed the entire world are utterly dependent upon.  Prices would instantly skyrocket, and our still very tenuous economic recovery could be strangled in the crib.  This is why an energy security bill is important, whether or not it is attached to climate change.  This is why electrification of transportation matters, at a scale that could actually reduce our oil dependence.  This is not just another Washington debate.  The consequences of inaction are severe, and every day that we delay is a day in which the threat could become reality.

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