As the U.S. struggles with and is strangled by gasoline at $4 a gallon, former U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt said he is optimistic about the solutions to the current energy crisis.

Gephardt was the guest speaker at a banquet Thursday night in the Hope Coliseum as part of the two-day Arkansas Clean Coal Technology Conference.

“The U.S. sends $700 billion a year from the U.S. to the rest of the world, often to unfriendly countries, for oil we’re using,” said Gephardt. “The question is how much and how we can replace some of that oil through domestic sources. And, the answer ...