the Centrist

This was the week that the Supreme Court handed down two important decisions. The first was that the death sentence cannot be carried out on anybody who has not committed a capital offense (the decision was about child rapists, but the effect will be as I have described). The second was that the right to bear arms is a basic human right guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution. Therefore, banning concealed weapon permits in any geographic area has been declared unconstitutional. Although these decisions are important and have occupied most of my research time in this past week, I have decided to concentrate on the greatest problem in our society, the economy. At week’s end it was the pain at the pump and in our 401K’s which captured my mind and my heart.
What drives me mad is that the coming recession is one fabricated by politics, not economics. Both parties are so frightened of the politically correct scientists who incorrectly claim that carbon based fuels are ruing the atmosphere that they refuse to even posit petroleum and coal as part of the solution, not the problem. The near term energy solution must include clean coal, petroleum, and nuclear as well as wind, solar, and hydrogen. The simple fact is that the demand for petroleum has skyrocketed due to two main new players on the planet (emerging markets of India and China). Whichever party recognizes that alternative fuels are at least decades away, will win control of both the Legislative and Executive Branches. Make no mistake this recession is being caused and driven by the high cost of oil. The obvious way to bring down the cost of oil is to find new domestic sources and build new refineries. The simplest way to accomplish this involves the power of the Presidency. Should this President decide, he could, by Executive Order, declare the immediate opening to exploration of known domestic oil reserves. First, he should re-open the capped wells in North Dakota to slant drill and recover the ocean of oil under that state and neighboring Montana; that would bring America oil within weeks (yes you read that properly, weeks). Next open the coasts to off shore drilling; that would supply oil to America within one to three years. Simultaneously declare the Alaskan wilderness, in Anwar, fair game; that would sustain America in the next decade. Finally, he must begin the immediate mining of shale oil in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and the building of new clean coal electric plants, as well as nuclear plants for the generation of electricity and hydrogen. This would provide America with inexpensive fuel for the next two decades, and, more importantly, cause the immediate drop in oil prices. This in turn would save the airlines, auto companies, and tourism, restoring the American economy. The next president would be hard pressed to reverse any of those decisions.
Furthermore, the oil companies are making record profits. Why should they abandon these profits to speculate in the alternative fuel markets? After all they are experts in petroleum, not the energy business. For instance, did the post office help develop e-mail? What is needed are government incentives granted visionaries who will develop new sources of energy. America needs those rare individuals who see this crisis as an opportunity. There are great profits in hydrogen, wind, bio-fuels, and solar energy. But it is very expensive to develop these companies; the federal government can help with more grants and incentives.
That being said, even though the air lines and trucking companies have made the rails fight for a piece of the market place, they haven’t replaced them. Neither will these alternative fuels replace fossil fuels. America must be made to understand that fossil fuels are here to stay. We not only need them as a conduit to cleaner fuels, but for the plethora of products made from them. But most importantly the role of any government is to protect its people and ease their pain. This recession will be painful to both America and the world. We know how to prevent it. It can be avoided by merely providing more domestic sources of: coal and petroleum as well as the construction of new coal and nuclear power plants, as well as refineries. This would ease the pain and provide inexpensive energy while we develop alternative sources of renewable fuels. But we must depend on fossil fuels to aid in the process of bringing American and the world to cleaner renewable sources of energy and preventing a worldwide depression.