Power To The People

Regardless of party affiliation, I think we can all agree on the neccessity of breaking our dependence on foreign oil. The alternatives are varied, ranging from solar to hydrogen to wind, etc.

For some reason, there are those who refuse to acknowledge the viability of the alternatives, particularly solar and wind. The rationale, across the board seems to be "Well, the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow." on the surface, this statement might seem like good old-fashioned horse-sense, but it's perpetuators know that, in truth, it doesn't hold water.

First of all, solar power units, as well as windmills, are capable of storing the energy that they generate. Solar panels, in fact, are capable of absorbing solar light and converting it into usable energy even on the cloudiest of days. I guess you have to ask why some people are so vehemently opposed to exploring it's value. Are they misinformed or simply looking out for interests that would rather undermine energy independence than promote it?

As for hydrogen, I'd be interested to hear a little more about how they'd prevent people from using it in bomb-making. Sure, someone could easily make a bomb out of conventional gasoline, but the actual volume and weight of gas makes it much less likely to be used in the large-scale way that hydrogen could be.

I also think that it's massively hypocritical of Bush, at this crisis stage of the game, to try to mandate the manufacture of hybrid vehicles and set impact-less, distant-future fuel standard requirements. This should have begun at the beginning of his first term. Hell, had this been set in motion during Clinton's first term, we'd already be independent of foreign oil. The next president would do well to make any future mandates more than just symbolic.

As world events have shown us in the last seven years, events that shape the future are controlled by those who have the means to execute their own visions, good and evil. It looks to me like energy independence won't truly be achieved until those that are able to achieve it are actually willing to do so.