8/21/08
"Boy! Gasoline is really cheap now…it is all the way down to $3.60 a gallon." I could hardly believe my ears as I heard someone say those words the other day. Did you ever think you would reach the point where you would feel that $3.60 per gallon was a bargain?
After the election is over and the international "merchants of greed" resume their raping of the American economy, gasoline will undoubtedly soar to over $5.00 per gallon and then if it falls back to $4.50, someone else will say, "Boy, gasoline is really cheap now…it is only $4.50 per gallon."
Our Congress has done nothing to begin to resolve the bent over position which the Mid-eastern Sheiks have enjoyed placing our nation and our citizens. We are still helpless victims of thirty years of bad management in Washington. Our crooked, inept, fractionalized, self serving, over political, government must act now, or ten years from now our great nation will be on its knees.
I have previously outlined what I feel should be some of the measures our leaders need to enact in order to begin to restore self direction and control to our nation’s economy. In the vain hope that perhaps one copy of this writing might make it to someone in authority, I will reiterate my thoughts.
Conservation Measures:
Americans have already responded to the crisis in some measure through increased conservation. These actions have been partially the result of the exorbitant cost of gasoline, and partially the result of an increased national awareness of the dangers before us. Our national daily intake of gasoline has decreased significantly, but more can and should be done. These steps will have an immediate impact on gasoline pricing and the strain on our economy.
- When taking kids to school, going to work, or even going to the golf course, make an effort to car pool and only take one vehicle.
- As Obama suggested, keep your car’s motor well maintained and tires properly inflated.
- On cool days, or for short trips around town, drive with the window down and the air conditioner turned off.
- Don’t drive faster than necessary. Speed costs us more now, both at the pump and from feeding our thirsty law enforcement bureaucratic pocketbook.
- More businesses and organizations should explore the possibility of using 10 hour-four day work week schedules for all or a portion of their staff. This approach removes 20% of the cost for driving to and from work.
- And finally, it wouldn’t hurt most of us to consider walking or cycling when possible. This might include daily trips to the post office, corner market, or golf course.
- 78 degrees is a comfortable temperature after you get used to it, and it is not nearly as expensive as keeping the house at 75 or 76 degrees.
Conversion of American Auto Industry:
In my opinion, it is appropriate at this time for our government to provide assistance to our American Auto Industry in converting plants and retooling their industry to produce the types of automobiles we should all be driving in this time of crisis. The faster this conversion occurs, the sooner the positive impact on our national fuel consumption will be realized. This is to everyone’s benefit since these high fuel costs impact food costs and the cost of transporting everything we purchase. Federal assistance should be given to the Automotive Industry in the following areas:
- Assistance in financing the cost of design, retooling, conversion and start up of assembly lines for manufacture of a new breed of cars with fuel efficiencies of 40 MPG or more.
- Research and production of "flex cars" that can use a variety of fuels.
- Relaxation of engine emission requirements for motors with 40 MPG or better performance.
- Financing at retail level for installation of storage and pumping equipment required for new types of fuels.
- Awards and financial incentives for development of new technology in automotive design that significantly improve performance. This would include improvements in the technologies of hydrogen fuel cells, battery design, natural gas usage, solar applications, and other similar technologies.
5 Year Plan of Action:
Our political leadership should immediately embark on a package of programs to move our struggling nation towards energy independence over the next twenty years. The initial phase of accomplishing this goal should be directed at using existing available resources to reduce our vulneralility from Mid Eastern greed while new technologies are developed. These intermediate steps include Federal government involvement in:
- Construction of several new refineries. These should be designed in a manner to facilitate later conversion to other uses if emerging technologies later reduce the demand for gasoline.
- Construction of several nuclear power plants.
- Construction of hydroelectric dams in all locations where a reasonable ROI is present.
- Increased development and construction of wind farms at suitable locations.
- Permitting drilling in all available locations where oil reserves are known or suspected to exist.
- Promoting and allowing oil shale use and technology.
- Providing greater tax breaks and financing for home owners to improve energy efficiency of homes, including installation of solar panels.
20 Year Plan of Action:
Initiatives must be started immediately to enhance development of all emerging technologies that hold promise of improving our national fuel efficiency index over the next twenty years. Our goal must be to achieve total energy independence by the year 2025.
These long range directed programs that should be initiated immediately include:
- Beginning "Energy Technologies" as a field of study in our scientific and engineering universities. The solution to our national dilemma may rest in the future creations which will come from a middle school student now studying in a small town somewhere in our land.
- Awarding grants and financial assistance to universities, laboratories, and companies engaged in research in all areas of relevance to development of new sources of energy.
- In the current most promising areas of technology which would include the hydrogen cell, agro-industry development of ethanol efficient products, new battery technologies, wind and solar technologies, coal technology, oil shale technology, and others, focus programs of financial assistance from the federal level.
Strengthening the Dollar:
Another factor that is significantly impacting the prices we pay at the pump is the continuing weakness of the dollar. Although the dollar has strengthened slightly in the past few days, the trend of erosion of its value is certain unless we change our way of doing international business. In my opinion, the following philosophical changes should occur in our international trade policies:
- We will only engage in "free trade" with a nation who totally reciprocates with us. Unless American food products, automobiles, and all other items enter their market freely, we will not allow their products to enter our markets free of duty.
- If their industries enjoy advantages of government assistance, use of convict labor, or other political or cultural costs influences, appropriate subsidies and duties should be applied to create an "even playing field" for American products in both markets.
- State Department influences on trade policies should be removed. We should not use American jobs as a bartering tool for international friendships.
- We should never allow the erosion of our industrial base to create other future American dependencies on other nations for products that could cripple our economy if supplies are interrupted.
Conclusion:
I am sure money and time will be wasted along the path to energy independence. But to falter in our united national determination and resolve because of petty politics and desire for power is a foolish game we can not allow our elected Washington representatives to play. It is time for us all to get serious about impending disasters to our economy and way of life.
If you know someone of influence in Washington that needs to read and heed the content of this column, please forward it to them. Thanks!
Rudiments:
- It is election time. If you do not exercise that sacred privilege, you are not being a good citizen. Your forefathers fought and died so that you could go to the polls next Tuesday.
- Our State Troopers are on a rampage. They have begun giving tickets at lower speed levels on I-10, and are rigorously looking for trailers and boats without tags. They first got the fines greatly increased effective the first of the year, and then stepped up their enforcement levels. It is their solution to the state revenue shortfall problem.
- Also, I understand that the D.O.T. has begun aggressively giving tickets to regular traffic. They are taking business away from the Highway Patrol.
- While we are talking about our D.O.T., they will soon begin cutting away that beautiful canopy of overhanging trees on Highway 73 North.
- Go Vote on Tuesday…..and you will be "Getting It Right".
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