Energy: the Superficial Crisis

          We have all felt the pinch of soaring gas prices, whether in your home or vehicle. The cost of natural resources have affected the cost of living for most Americans and many other countries are on the path as well. But is this really a crisis or a final destination on the road we paved for ourselves. For those who don’t know a large percentage of the energy crisis is our own fault.

          62% of the worlds energy comes from oil and coal, such a high percentage that we all bought into. Think about this, Solar energy was discovered in the 1800’s and in 200 years we have not yet begun to really focus on the radiant energy we all take for granted each day. Solar cells are increasingly becoming cost efficient, and typically pay for themselves after a few years, when do we expect oil or coal resources to pay for itself? If you own a oil or fuel company it already has, for the rest of us it never will.

          The price of oil has tripled since the begining of 2002, and yet there has been no conversions to cost effecient energy. We have all sat around and watched each year as oil companies annually post Billion dollar profits. A Billion dollars? would it have been to much to ask to shave some profits and put it into price reductions? Dont most major companies buy into their own stock, it’s relatively the same idea, Shave 2% profits and increase sales 5%. You make the same amount of money, and save the rest of us from selling our skins to get to work, and give up our money to do so?

          Its not all about oil companies. Motor companies have been selling off twin models of popular U.S cars to Europeans for years, what does this have to do with the crisis? Well the same car you may be driving would get about 12 miles a gallon more if it were being sold to Europe. Do the research. In fact, the whole crisis has been the fault of our greedy, ride the lightning style, blissful ignorance. The first self propelled vehicle was invented in 1769! It may seem as if we have come a long way, but we haven’t. In the 1970’s most cars got 15 MPG. nearly 40 years later we have only doubled that. http://www.pewfuelefficiency.org/docs/cafe_history.pdf

         Sounds great huh? That’s terrible numbers. Do you know that there was a car made that got a rough MPG of about 9,000? That’s right, go around the world on about 3 gallons. They say it was ugly, they say it was expensive, they say it wasn’t worth it. I dont know about you, but to me it sounds worth it. People we have been kept in 20′ level MPG for a reason: Money.  The work could have been done, it wasn’t, the research and work could have been achieved, but it wasn’t. We could have all been driving ten times what we do now and used 75% less oil. Demand would have been so low, Gas would cost about 37 cents a gallon. And the same greedy people making billions would have quickly looked for other forms of energy to make money, there would be no Energy monopoly, and we would all be living better.

          So, the energy crisis is now upon us, and we are all to blame. You bought into it, I bought into it. the crisis is Superficial.