Anyone who participates in the economy has felt the impact of the increasing oil prices. From gas in our cars to food on our tables, everything has increased except wages. Our oil dependence which has been a campaign issue since the 1976 presidential campaign has never been adequately addressed. There is no comprehensive energy policy that serves consumers, only a policy that benefits the oil industry, constructed in secret by the Prince of Darkness himself, Dick Cheney. Americans seem to be looking for the silver bullet that will allow them to be the largest consumer of energy per capita in the world. The problem with continuing to depend on oil, even with its energy output is that once it is exhausted, it is gone. It doesn’t really matter how less efficient ethanol is if there is no oil to substitute for it because we used it all. With car sales slumping and fuel costs rising it’s no wonder that the American auto industry is in trouble. It continues to produce vehicles that have poor fuel efficiency and industry executives seem to believe that oil prices will somehow miraculously fall. And we can’t blame ‘greedy’ oil executives either. They are simply fulfilling their legal obligation to their shareholders to produce profits. In a market system they could be allowed to operated unfettered or politicians could show some political and moral courage by providing direct competition to oil companies that are reporting all time record profits.
Maybe the solution to our energy problems is comprised of many smaller solutions. For example, ethanol may be the best hope for vehicle fuel once an enzyme can be discovered or created that will break down saw grass, wood chips and yard waste into a usable fuel. The reality is that corn based ethanol is a dead end. Sugar based ethanol, like what is used in Brazil, might be the future if we can get along with our Caribbean and Central American neighbors to produce enough sugar to power some percentage of our vehicles.. What would happen if a large city or county decided to invest in the type of technology to produce ethanol just for its municipal fleet? Would that be enough incentive for auto companies to produce more ethanol powered vehicles and enough incentive to oil companies to transition to energy companies in order to stay profitable. What a political statement it would be to have the second or third largest city or county in the country not dependent on oil companies to fuel its fleet of vehicles.
What if cities that have long periods of sunlight invested in solar technology for municipal buildings or required solar power for new residential or commercial construction. What if those cities provided incentives for community energy efficiency like a windmill or two on blocks where the residents wanted them to supplement electricity provided from the grid? What would happen if windmill farms were built to support the electrical grid in high demand areas that were owned and operated by a municipal corporation? What if public transportation systems converted their bus fleets to electric or natural gas vehicles or created a system that converted used cooking oil to bio-diesel for use in its existing fleets. Used cooking oil is disposed of at no cost to restaurants, air quality is improved by reduced petroleum based exhaust and fuel costs for public transportation systems is reduced increasing their operating profit. What if airlines invested in their own fuel system, using aviation fuel created from coal? The United States Air Force is already moving in the direction of using synthetic fuels for its fleet to eliminate dependence on foreign sources of oil. What if all new residential construction moved away from using fiberglass insulation and used cellulose insulation which lowers heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer. Of course it is more expensive but it has the potential of taking homeowners off the electrical grid because their houses could be constructed to be energy independent. Of course large electric utilities would find themselves with an energy surplus and the cost of electricity would be pennies a day. The lobbyists for the oil industry, the electrical utilities and the auto industry would be working feverishly to prevent the country from moving in this direction as their corporate profits would be sliced significantly. Why average citizens would be concerned that oil company profits would be reduced is beyond me. Being the self-interested consumers we are, there would probably be celebrations in the streets when fuel costs for a gallon of fuel are .80¢ instead of $4.60.
In and of themselves none of these policies would have a significant impact on our oil dependency. In concert, the United States could lower its dependency on foreign petroleum, spur economic development in those industries and have the impact of being a leader in environmental politics and energy efficiency. With India and China needing ever increasing amounts of oil, American energy independence could re-establish our economic dominance for the next half century. It is pretty clear that government does have a role in energy policy but it’s first step is clean its own house first before expecting other industries to change.
What if cities that have long periods of sunlight invested in solar technology for municipal buildings or required solar power for new residential or commercial construction. What if those cities provided incentives for community energy efficiency like a windmill or two on blocks where the residents wanted them to supplement electricity provided from the grid? What would happen if windmill farms were built to support the electrical grid in high demand areas that were owned and operated by a municipal corporation? What if public transportation systems converted their bus fleets to electric or natural gas vehicles or created a system that converted used cooking oil to bio-diesel for use in its existing fleets. Used cooking oil is disposed of at no cost to restaurants, air quality is improved by reduced petroleum based exhaust and fuel costs for public transportation systems is reduced increasing their operating profit. What if airlines invested in their own fuel system, using aviation fuel created from coal? The United States Air Force is already moving in the direction of using synthetic fuels for its fleet to eliminate dependence on foreign sources of oil. What if all new residential construction moved away from using fiberglass insulation and used cellulose insulation which lowers heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer. Of course it is more expensive but it has the potential of taking homeowners off the electrical grid because their houses could be constructed to be energy independent. Of course large electric utilities would find themselves with an energy surplus and the cost of electricity would be pennies a day. The lobbyists for the oil industry, the electrical utilities and the auto industry would be working feverishly to prevent the country from moving in this direction as their corporate profits would be sliced significantly. Why average citizens would be concerned that oil company profits would be reduced is beyond me. Being the self-interested consumers we are, there would probably be celebrations in the streets when fuel costs for a gallon of fuel are .80¢ instead of $4.60.
In and of themselves none of these policies would have a significant impact on our oil dependency. In concert, the United States could lower its dependency on foreign petroleum, spur economic development in those industries and have the impact of being a leader in environmental politics and energy efficiency. With India and China needing ever increasing amounts of oil, American energy independence could re-establish our economic dominance for the next half century. It is pretty clear that government does have a role in energy policy but it’s first step is clean its own house first before expecting other industries to change.
1 comment:
It is unfortunate but I really do not think that we will "stop" talking about it, PB. I can recall small isolated boycotts of gas stations, but the real issue is that we are not willing to inconvience [sp] ourselves long enough to influence change. People want to get in their cars, on planes, and on buses and go at will. I really believe that the "powers that be" understand that people are willing to make the committment needed to influence change that is possible by abstaining.
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