Last week, the progressive group "MoveOn.org" mobilized its membership to get together, discuss and vote on the Top 3 ideas that MoveOn.org would champion for the remainder of 2006 and into the near future.
Based on the feedback received from 600 "Positive Agenda House Parties" hosted by MoveOn members, ten goals were identified as finalists and members were allowed to vote online to decide which ones would make it to the Top 3 list.
The number one goal, in my opinion, needs to be one of making our country energy independent. America needs to lead in developing clean, renewable sources of energy. We need to reduce, if not eliminate, our dependence on oil, especially foreign sources of oil.
When I was a kid, I witnessed firsthand the effects of the first "Arab Oil Embargo". Prices for petrol rose as demand outstripped supply. I can remember waiting in long lines of cars for an hour or more, just so my mom could get the tank filled. A system was put into place where you could only get a fill-up on an even or an odd day, depending on the last number of your car license plate. I later learned that the embargo was a result of the US government's support of Israel in a war against Egypt.
Although the crisis didn't last long, it did raise public awareness of how dependent America had become on oil from the Middle East. A hue and cry went up from the pols on Capitol Hill, demanding that something be done to release the stranglehold that OPEC had on the necks (and pocketbooks) of American consumers. Does anyone remember this? All of the sudden, ideas emerged about alternative sources of energy that could, with the support of government, reduce our reliance on foreign sources of oil. Really good ideas, too, like solar power, wind turbines and fusion energy research. Some government regulations were enacted to impose higher mileage requirements from the auto industry, and some alternative energy tax credits were introduced. These were the beginnings of a solution to the problem, albeit small beginnings.
Over time, the crisis eased and the public's attention shifted (or got shifted). Before long, the alternative energy credits disappeared, the automakers stopped making gas-sipping compacts and geared up for the SUV / minvan generation, and before you knew it, we had a Trans-Alaska pipeline, the Hummer, and two oilmen in the White House. The Middle East still has 90% of the oil and apart from wind farms that provide about 1% of our energy needs, plus a fleet of aging atomic energy plants that no one wants to live near, we are no closer to energy independence now than we were when I was a boy back in 1975.
If we demanded more of our government, such as reducing military spending by 50% and using that money to finance the necessary R&D for alternative energy (clean and renewable) production on a massive scale, it might take another 30 years before America could say it was "energy independent". But having seen the past 30 years fly by, I can tell you that three decades is not a long time, especially when the time is well spent.
Let's get started!
