The Impact of energy costs should be the biggest concern of every candidate running in the upcoming election. Rising energy costs have forced prices to rise across the board, and the pinch has been felt by every American in one form or another. Indeed, any candidate without a plan to deal with this, may as well stay home and save his own fuel.
Our country and its economy runs almost entirely on fossil fuels, and all alternatives at this point are a long way off. Even the simplest alternatives like ethanol have proven inefficient and uneconomical. Ethanol is made from cellulose, which in turn comes from plants like corn. The problem with this is we simply cannot grow enough corn for both our food supply and fuel needs.
Another idea is fuel cell technologies. These use electricity and high compression to extract electricity from hydrogen atoms. The system is completely dependent on pure hydrogen, which is rather hard to get at this time. There are a few ways to get pure hydrogen; the most efficient and viable sadly, require the burning of vast amounts of coal. This of course would be disastrous to our environment and cause shortages in electricity. Coal is the number one source used in generating electricity at this time, and will most likely remain so for quite some time.
We also have budding new technologies in molecular energies. One of the most promising uses regular water, and takes a single hydrogen atom each from the molecules and combines the left over atoms into water molecules and oxygen again. This idea sounds like science fiction, but it is scientifically proven and already used in small test cars and machines. The problem with this technology is it is new, and at this time very expensive to manufacture. In addition the devices used to "make the magic" are very limited, fragile and require frequent replacements.
Solar energy is both very expensive, and requires a lot of space to work effectively. Forget all the stories told to you by many environmentalists; at this time turning the entire landscape of our countries deserts into solar panel fields, is inefficient and unreliable. Not to mention the effects such an undertaking would have on the ecosystem there.
Liquid or clean burning coal is equally unattainable, and with current technology levels completely unrealistic. Also the fact that the ratio of liquid fuel gain from coal used is pathetic, and would make coal the next fossil fuel crisis. If a large section of the world suddenly needed 4 times or more the amount of coal they currently use, what would happen to coal reserves in say 10 years? Or even 5 for that matter. We would be in the same state we are in now.
The simple and easy answers do not exist at this point and most likely will not for years. The only way to make alternative fuel sources viable and attainable in our lifetime will be from universal effort and support from both our government and business, and not the placating nonsense given to us right now.
Sure we can drill for oil on every spot of the globe, but that will not change anything in the end. We drill in Anwar and in 2-3 years when its gone, we will drill in the Gulf of Mexico, and then where else? Under the Polar Ice Caps? The bottom of the oceans? Why not lay claims to the future oil deposits where our graveyards are right now. Hey, in a few million years it will be a nice fossil fuel.
I was being a bit facetious in that last paragraph, but the point is a valid one. We will only be doing the same things we have done in the past. We will be taking from the planet and not contributing to it again. My father always told me to try and make a place better from my passing and not worse for it. To keep doing what we have done in the past will only prolong the inevitable. We will eventually have to maintain our own fuel supplies because there will be none left. Why not start right now instead of waiting until we have no choice?
In the next few months before the final elections, we will hear half-truths, see false evidence, and be told outright lies about the looming energy problems ahead. One side will be backing oil and energy companies, and the other will be in the pocket of the labor unions. Neither one will have any real answers that will change anything on the scale required. All great change comes from the necessities of the people, and not from those of big business. To wait for a person to come along and give you an answer is an exercise in futility.
The idea may come from a business but the application must come from the people's voices. More simply put; if you want a viable and reusable energy source in your or your children's lifetime, each one of us must accept nothing less from our leaders. We must stop accepting what we are given and demand what we must have. Do we need cell phones that can store 10,000 songs, or a renewable fuel source? How about a Blu-Ray hi def recorder for our HDTV or a way to prevent this energy crisis of ours from becoming the crisis of our children?
We have many things to put back into proper perspective before we can expect any elected official to do anything to help us. This election will be no different than those in the past; we will be told what we want to hear and vote for the one who placates us best. However when you go to vote this year, vote in the way that best represents your values and beliefs. Then when they get into office no matter if it was your choice or not, you have the right and duty to make your voice heard by them. Give them no peace until they must act on your wishes. If given enough grief they will do what you demand, they have no choice; they will or face being the next ex-president or official.
Our reliance on fossil fuels starts and ends with us. It would never have become the necessity of today without our participation and consent, and it will not be the necessity of tomorrow without it.
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