SI Editorial: The U.S. Energy Dilemma

ITS HERE. The ugly Day of Reckoning in U.S. Energy Policy has arrived and there is plenty of blame to go around. Decades of inaction by our government, endless roadblocks by environmental groups, little national interest in conservation and an auto industry with a short term agenda that focused solely on the big profits of BIG SUVs. All these factors have finally caught up with us. It was inevitable......just a matter of time. Pay day has arrived and it's both painful and ugly.

NOW WHAT??????

Unfortunately, there will be much pain before we can get out of this mess. It will take a national effort to make it happen. The stark reality is scary. Not only is our lack of an energy policy hurting our standard of living, even worse, we no longer control our own destiny!! How scary is it that other countries control whether or not we can heat our homes in the winter or drive our cars in the summer? The Sirtuin Investor proposes the following common sense solutions:

• Remove the Roadblocks to Nuclear Power. - it's not perfect but it is efficient, abundant and produces NO CO2. France generates 80% of its electrical power from nuclear energy!!


• Sell Oil and Gas Exploration Leases off the coast of the continental shelf - we have two coastlines that may hold billions of barrels of oil. However, they have been off limits to drilling due to environmental concerns. It is understandable and reasonable to be concerned for our environment. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. Look at what Brazil has accomplished. At this point ANWAR is a no brainer. Are working class people less important than caribou?


• Embrace Cellulosic Ethanol - don't be swayed by the fiasco of corn based ethanol as it was always intended to be a stepping stone. Once again another country had the vision that we, up until this point, failed to see. Brazil is energy independent. We can get there too with the big legislative push currently in place for cellulosic ethanol. To learn more click here. You may even make some money.


• Continue to Push For Renewable Energy - we are on the road to progress in this area. Wind, Solar, Municipal Waste, Geothermal, Hydro, Tidal Energy. These are the long term answers that will eventually make a difference. How could anybody argue with off shore wind turbines, for God's sake? But they do!!


• Conservation - with energy prices at current levels conversation is finally happening on its own inertia. Big SUV's are finally being shunned by consumers. However, legislation should be enacted to officially require significant improvements in auto gas mileage requirements, something that should have been accomplished decades ago.

Nothing stated above is earth shattering. But we are where we are due primarily to a failure of our government act. It is important to get congress to take action now. Those inclined to do so should click on the little e-mail link below to forward this editorial to their representative in congress. Also forward to friends, enemies and acquaintances.