… on fossil fuel dependency. Remember the good old days when the USA declared war on its enemies Germany and Japan and the people in this country pulled together and devoted virtually all of its energy to defeating their foes in battle. Neither do I. I was born in 1968 so it would be impossible for me to remember. But I do watch the History Channel. We produced war machines in mind-boggling numbers. We shipped goods all over the world. We unlocked the secrets of the atomic bomb. And we sent thousands of young men overseas to die.

Imagine what this country could do if it devoted the same level of effort that it showed in WWII into ridding itself of its dependency on fossil fuel. With all the research focused on coming up with alternative fuels and alternative energy sources I’m sure it could be done in 5-10 years instead of the decades it will take at the current pace of activity.

Wasn’t the frenzy of spending during WWII the chief reason the US pulled out of the Great Depression. I’m no economist, but wouldn’t a war on fossil fuel dependency also have a positive effect on the economy? To change our sources of energy, whether you are talking about how it’s produced or how it’s delivered, I assume would take an immense amount of funding and investment. And wouldn’t that kind of spending be done here in the States as opposed to the current situation where much of our wealth is shipped off to line the pockets of some Middle Eastern shieks?

Look around. Gas is hitting $4 a gallon. Do you see fewer cars on the road? I don’t. You cannot expect people to give up their mobility. Why should they? There’s nothing evil about it. Maybe the tree huggers would prefer that we all take up bicycling but I don’t see that happening. Nor do I foresee people getting out of their cars in mass and using public transportation. Further, not everyone is as fortunate as I am to live close enough to walk to work. All of these solutions are well and good but they only reduce the problem. They do not eliminate it. A complete overhaul of the system is needed.

Oil is getting too damn expensive. It’s polluting the air. It’s creating political turmoil throughout the world. It’s time to say enough is enough. Picture what a perfect world it would be if your car and your electricity were produced by domestic, environmentally friendly resources. Will it be nuclear, solar, wind, corn, switchgrass, pondscum or whatever? The solution has to be out there. Let’s throw the same kind of effort we did into defeating the Imperial Japanese and the Nazis into finding that solution.

The end.