Oil is oil is oil. Whether it comes from the desert in Saudi Arabia, or whether it comes off the beautiful shoreline of California, it is still subject to the same laws of demand, price speculation, and it will eventually run out. We are at a critical time in our nations history. Energy prices our choking our economy. Using oil is destroying our environment. And we are sending BILLIONS upon BILLIONS of dollars each year to countries that we hate (Iran, Venezuela, Iraq, Nigeria, and to a lesser extend Saudi Arabia).

We can do one of three things:
1. We can keep it the way it is, aka, let the "free market" run its course. The price of oil will only get higher. Our economy will go through a full blown recession. And we will still send HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of dollars to Iran, Venezuela, Iraq, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia. NOT GOOD!

2. We can put a band-aid on the gushing wound. That means sacrificing some of the most sacred environment on earth (off the shore of California, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the Rocky Mountains) and drilling for our own oil. Fair enough, but oil is still subject to the same supply and demand that has caused the price of oil to increase 8 times the price it was in 1998. It is still subject to the same price speculation. It is still subject to the same, everytime someone picks up a gun in Saudi Arabia, the price goes through the roof BS. Sure the extra supply will help reduce the price, but not nearly enough to release the pressure that is choking our economy. Still sending billions to countries we hate. Destroying the most sacred environment on the planet.
And the whole point is that in 10-20 years we will be right back where we started with only options 1 and 3 left. And nothing will have been accomplished (except destroying the environment and sending billions to countries we hate, and not letting our economy reach its full potential).


OR, we can do option 3.
An "Apollo" type effort to get the US off of oil. Invest in alternative energy (wind, hydro, solar, nuclear, whatever technology is deemed good). Make every car model produced in a plug-in hybrid, or should better battery technology come along, completely electric car. Why would anyone be opposed to an electric car if it can go as fast, go as far, accelerate as fast, and tow as much as a gas powered car? Offer something to offset the slight increase in price of a plug-in hybrid versus a gas car. Tax credit sounds good. Electricity is the cheapest known way to power an automobile. And if our investment in alternative energy produces better technology, that price will only go DOWN. So most people will buy these plug-in hybrid/pure electric cars. All energy is now US "grown."

We stop sending BILLIONS upon BILLIONS of dollars over seas to countries we hate. Not only is that good for national security and defense, but now all that money will go completely to US companies (instead of just US oil companies, and the rest going to foreign countries). Now the price of energy is cheap (I think electricity costs about $0.60/gallon of gas equivalent, so about 20% the cost of gas). Every person who drives a decent amount has an extra $1,000 to spend each year. Major corporations save MILLIONS. All this money gets used in the US economy, causing a sustained period of economic prosperity. The US becomes a net exporter of oil. Now that the worlds largest oil consumer is not consuming oil, the demand for oil, and thus the price of oil drops drastically. Jet fuel becomes dirt cheap (comparatively). Nations like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria, and Venezuela loose BILLIONS of dollars.

Oh, and did I mention this entire method is incredibly environmentally friendly (comparatively).

And you are right... we should not be turning our food supply into energy. That is the Bush administration and all politicians whose constituents live in rural farmland. I am completely for stopping all of those subsidies and giving that to companies researching solar, wind, hydro, or nuclear power. No argument there.


How does this sound? We have three options. I am for the third option. But as long as our nation selects option 1 or 2, we will still have a problem. Perhaps option 3 makes too much sense!