Do We Need an Energy ”Manhattan Project”?

Can Big Government really solve the energy crisis? It would be nice to believe that. While America has a much-deserved reputation as the land of free-market-loving entrepreneurs, that doesn’t mean Uncle Sam can’t occasionally take the lead and achieve some pretty impressive results. Two that quickly come to mind are the Manhattan Project ($20 billion in today’s dollars), which developed the atomic bomb, and the Apollo space program ($100 billion in today’s dollars), which eventually put 12 men on the surface of the moon. And it’s those two examples of successful collective action that many people think should serve as the models for how we deal with our current power problems, whether it’s slowing climate change or achieving energy security. As Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama has put it:

There’s a reason that some have compared the quest for energy independence to the Manhattan Project or the Apollo moon landing. Like those historic efforts, moving away from an oil economy is a major challenge that will require a sustained national commitment…. Washington needs to get serious about working together to find a real solution to our energy crisis.

“Washington to the rescue” may be the classic liberal rallying cry, but this doesn’t seem to be a Democrat-Republican, left-right issue. You can find folks across the political spectrum