Postby TW » June 27th, 2008, 11:00 am
Our energy problems are far more complex than "just" the price of gas. These artificially inflated oil prices are having a ripple effect on the entire energy picture. We cannot afford to become so focused on lowering the price of gas that we fail to plan for the future.
The first step is to lower the price for gasoline that the consumer pays. My opinion is that the industry should be regulated with a "cost plus" limit on profits taken by the speculators and oil companies. That would eliminate the artificial inflation in the cost of gas, as we would be paying only the cost of actual production plus a reasonable profit for the producers. The speculators can go back to trying to corner the market on Pork Bellies.
Of equal importance is that we need to re-invent our transportation system. Outside of a few localized areas, mass transportation in the United States is abysmal. We need to develop systems that can move greater numbers of people from the areas that they live in to the areas where they work in a quick and efficient manner. This would help in reducing the cost of energy by cutting into the demand for fuel, fewer cars on the road = less demand. Make better use of our rail system. Update and expand our railroads. Instead of shipping over the road from point to point, ship more by rail. Use commuter trains to move people from the bedroom communities to the business centers, downtown areas and industrial parks, then shuttle buses from train terminals to their work locale.
At the same time encourage the development of all energy sources. We are going to need them eventually, so the intelligent thing to do is develop them now so they will be ready when needed.
Our biggest problem is that we are trying to run our world as if it was still 1960. Our highway and rail system is grossly out of date and cannot be expected to carry the load of this decade. How much fuel is wasted as we sit in gridlock for an hour or so everyday? We must find better ways to move people from where they are to where they need to be.
TW
Anglo-Saxon Proto-English Manuscripts (995 AD): “God lufode middan-eard swa, dat he seade his an-cennedan sunu, dat nan ne forweorde de on hine gely ac habbe dat ece lif."
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