Jason Monastra

My life and thoughts out on the web

I have been following this subject matter of oil and gas now as it has become the ever so present screen saver on each and every TV and newscast I turn to.  The economy, the faltering market, the ups and downs of oil/gas, and of course our good ole currency.  I wrote previously about the foundation of an energy policy that would allow for offshore drilling to compliment an expansion within the alternative fuel markets thus producing a long term plan in which we could free ourselves from imported oil.  As I continue to read, I find mounting facts that the reason for our oil dependence is far more our own fault than we would like to believe.  With increasing technologies and long term benefits already being leveraged by other companies….why are we not leading the way with this?

Lets take a look at some of the other countries out there, shall we:

Denmark:  The country has invested in wind technology thus producing more than 18% of their domestic energy supply from wind.  Here in the US, we produce less than 1%.

France:  Nuclear is their claim to fame.  I am surprised that that liberals keep bottle-necking this process when their great friends across the pond produce 78% of their energy from nuclear. 

Norway:  Now these guys have it together and I like their energy policy.  Norway has some of the largest reserves in the world.  Rather than wasting the precious money maker on themselves, they sit back and sell it to the world while producing nearly all of their country’s electricity from hydro. 

Alright, are you going to tell me that with all of the resources and talent here in the US, we cannot figure out how to make use of other energy sources.  I think that is bunch of garbage.  The fact remains that companies continue to push the oil agenda to keep the cost high and therefore squeeze additional profits.  Instead of innovation, we are fast becoming the lack luster pioneers of NOTHING, relying on crude and coal.  We are falling behind people and this is not an opinion but a fact in which all countries are steadily passing us by one by one while encouraging us to remain in the past.  The leaders are not stupid but rather are feeding the gluttony of the US machine, lulling us to sleep with the fat and satisfied.  When that comes to an end, and it will - someone will wake up and realize that we are so far behind that we cannot catch up.  Our universal influence has already left us and we are fast becoming less influential than other countries in overall policy development.  Energy is simply one pillar to that foundation which has been steadily chipped away at.  If we do not do something soon, things will be lost that are a lot more tangible than the words we throw around.