May 4, 2001

Vice President Cheney unveiled part of his "energy strategy" earlier this week.  To be quite honest, I was disappointed.  His basic position is that energy conservation is not the same as energy production & therefore further conservation will not help the country out of its energy deficit.  Instead, he proposes increasing production of energy by investigating old technologies such as drilling for more oil and natural gas as well as expanding nuclear energy.  This could possibly include the controversial exploration of previously protected lands in Alaska.

From my layman's perspective, this seems to be a shortsighted attitude towards one of the largest crises that this country has faced in the modern era.  The United States consumes more of everything than any other country, including energy.  For us to continue down a path that we know leads to a dead end, we show the world how we value a cheap tank of gas over the welfare of our environment.  It's as if a person stranded on an island were to say, "I know that I only have enough food for two weeks, but I will continue to eat the same portions and look for more food."  Even if that person were to find more food, it too would eventually be gone & they would not survive.  My dad would say, "Hey, I'm paying for it, why can't I run my air conditioner 24 hours a day?"  While there would appear to be an abundance of energy today for those that can afford it, this kind of attitude will not serve us or future generations (sorry, Dad.)

So, what do we do?   Our economy is linked to the old forms of energy production as are our cars, lawn mowers, TVs & practically every other item we use every day (including this computer.)   I believe that the only way out of this cycle of dependence on old technology is to slowly transform our energy use to a more conservation-based model coupled with exploration of new technologies.  By reducing our current need for energy, we give ourselves more time to find viable alternatives.  We've already seen this with the introduction of hybrid cars that use both gasoline and electricity to run.  I firmly believe that these cars would not be on the market were it not for the government pushing car companies to create more efficient products.  If one looks at the development of the internet and the resulting explosion of the NASDAQ as an example, alternative energy production would seem to be a vast untapped market.  The real issue is how to market these products so that pricing is competitive with older technologies.  With gasoline prices climbing to nearly $2.00 a gallon, I imagine that the hybrid car people are dancing in the streets.  In fact, Toyota has a four-month wait for their hybrid car due largely to the gas "crisis".  The fact that this crisis is, in my opinion, largely manufactured does not matter; people still want these new products.  We are not far from the day when we will be able to purchase a car that runs completely without gasoline.  The hybrid model gives us exactly what we need: more time.

We will never have enough energy to satisfy hungry consumers.  With new gadgets coming out every day, energy needs are skyrocketing.  It is up to us to control our impulse to splurge on energy & also to purchase items that are less energy-dependant.  So, when you leave work today, please make sure that you have at least turned off your monitor & the lights to your office.  Your kids will thank you later.