“We are not going to reach energy independence in this nation and have better control over our national security as long as we remain dependent on the internal combustion engine and air traffic to move people and goods,” Schlesinger said.
With $5 billion worth of oil being used daily and the world’s existing oil fields in a decline of about 4% a year, Schlesinger detailed three relatively immediate alternatives: conservation, renewable resources and nuclear power. However, his prediction that future demand for oil would mean finding the equivalence of nine Saudia Arabia’s had more of an impact on the crowd.
[Link: CollegiateTimes.com]
People with real credentials are beginning to talk about the energy crisis now. James R. Schlesinger is a bonafide insider and person of knowledge. If you read the message between the lines of this article, it is impossible to deny the need for speed in any solution we bring to the energy table. Sadly, we have very few energy solutions available to us and all of them involve, at least, the whole of American society and probably the entire globe. More unfortunately, there are so very few solutions at the societal level that can be implemented in less than a generation. There is no margin for error and if we fail there will be hell to pay. I wish I were more optimistic about our ability to deal rationally with a problem of this magnitude.
I recently heard someone say that we will be OK because all of history has had a record of progress and advancement of society. I wanted to say that he needed to talk to a few people in Italy during the middle of the dark ages about all of the improvements they saw in their life compared to the Roman empire. We are not on a constant upward slope. "*%$?@" happens and when it does we are not guaranteed a rain check.
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