So here's the plan. Everyone don't fill up your cars on August 31.
Haha just kidding, made you look. Everyone knows that's a horrible idea.
Anywho, I'm just about in the mood to pimp-slap my local congressman. I'm sure many of you reading this are as well. Whenever I turn on the news, here's what I hear the parties saying:
Republicans: Drill, Gulf, ANWR, Shale, Nuclear, Oil....
Democrats: Alternative, Wind, Solar, Hydrogen, Ethanol...
Who's right??? Well this one doesn't take the head cashier at Wal-Mart to figure out (And I would know, I work there). They are both correct. Partially. Right now, this nation is hemorrhaging trillions of dollars in oil money to our Middle Eastern neighbors. Our environment is one of our most precious assets, and we need to protect it for our children and our childrens' children. Well I've got some good news and some bad news for both parties:
Republicans:
Good news: Oil isn't going away for a while. We have millions of cars, trucks, trains, ships, planes and power plants that rely on it. Our country is fueled by petroleum.
Bad news: Oil won't last forever- once we're out, we're out. Also, the exhaust it creates is hurting the environment. We need to eventually phase it out.
Democrats:
Good news: Alternative, renewable fuels are indeed the path to a cleaner future, and we need to embrace research on them.
Bad news: Alternative fuels aren't cheap (right now), and there's a long way to go before we can harness these forms of energy on a cost-efficient basis.
So where does this leave us? We've got to fix both short and long term problems. We need to drill in our own back yard for fossil fuels. We must cut our demand for foreign oil because it's killing our economy! I'm talking trillions of dollars leaving our continent each year, which is going towards building ridiculous hotels in Dubai. I know drilling today won't mean gas will be $1.50 a gallon tomorrow. It may take 5-10 years, but it's a step in the right direction; eliminating our tithe to the Saudis.
Meanwhile,though, we need to be developing these alternative fuels in order to eventually phase out petroleum as the fuel for our nation. Auto manufacturers need to work on electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. We need to investigate more environmentally friendly ways of generating energy-- solar and wind, of course... and dare I say it? Nukes! In addition, we need to construct new buildings in a more energy-sensitive fashion.
For example, I was reading in a Wal-Mart magazine about their new energy-saving stores that incorporate a number of techniques to save them money on energy costs, and to help the environment as well. Things such as no lights during the day- skylights provide the lighting. The excess heat generated by the freezers is pumped to the heaters instead of just releasing it via a heat pump... things like that are simple, yet smart. (Those two examples are just scratching the surface)
The USA is the smartest nation on the planet, and one thing we have a limitless supply of is ingenuity. Given enough time and the demand for new technology, we can do anything.
So, Republicans and Democrats, we're going to have to make a compromise. We have to cut our dependence on foreign oil by drilling in South Dakota, ANWR, and/or the Gulf of Mexico. We desperately need to keep that money here in our economy. We also need to be more friendly with the environment and we need to find a source of energy that can supply our demands indefinitely.
PS. Global Warming is a crock. That is all.
