Ed Board is still recovering from our last trip to the gas station. It was quite a shocking experience, and we’re sure that filling up the tank has been just as painful for you.
Gas prices have raced past $3 nationwide, and stations in Dallas already have premium gasoline well over that.
Web sites like GasBuddy.com, which tell you where to find the cheapest gas in your neighborhood, have seen traffic double in the past two weeks.
Even the ubiquitous facebook.com has become a part of the story, with a “Gas Prices are out of Control!” group.
The situation wouldn’t be so bad, but it looks like there will be no relief any time soon. Not surprisingly, the politicians in Washington are all over this.
Faster than a pork-barrel bill gets through the House, both Democrats and Republicans are calling for investigations into the oil companies.
The president has called for an investigation into possible price gouging and has decided not to supply oil to the strategic reserves until fall. Admittedly, this will do nothing.
As much as this is a political win for the Democrats and another nail in the coffin for Republicans, real relief is truly needed. It’s time for some forward thinking, so America can have its energy independence.
First, the wrong thing to do is drill for more oil in random places – like maybe the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge. That is a short-term fix and does nothing to create new energy sources that we desperately need.
If energy really is the homeland security issue President George W. Bush is claiming, then we need to stop spending like drunken sailors on defense and start spending on energy.
The easiest thing to do is provide more incentive for automakers to produce hybrids and further technologies that will make our life better now. These technologies will lead to future innovations. The solution to our energy problem is most likely something we don’t know about yet because it hasn’t been discovered.
Alternative energy sources like wind and solar should be used in places where it would make sense — like Texas and the rest of the Southwest.
Let’s improve what we have now – and work to make our future better. Otherwise, it’s going to require a student loan to go on a road trip.
