Energy

Here are my top 5 ideas on the energy crisis:

1. Reduce consumption. Allow gas prices to rise to unsubsidized levels and make people pay the market price. This will be a burden at first, but over time people will begin to use their money on alternatives such as inner city real estate (gentrification is certainly nothing to be frowned upon) and electric/mass transit. This allows us to decrease our dependence on oil without simply shifting it to some other resource where we will come across the same problem. I agree with T Boone Pickens in that natural gas is a solid alternative for large vehicles. Aside from transportation, proper building codes that promote good architectural practices would decrease the HUGE amount of energy spent heating and cooling buildings. This is beginning to happen in more progressive cities but it should be universal, maintaining buildings uses twice as much energy as the entire transportation sector.

2. Reduce the use of coal as a primary energy fuel and replace it with nuclear power. This is a temporary solution because nuclear fuel is just as finite as coal, but it's much better for the environment and will greatly increase our energy capacity. We can do this by simply not building any more coal plants. Any plant currently being built can be completed, but future demands are to be met by nuclear or renewable sources. Coal is not a viable solution anymore.

3. Ban plastic. Nothing good is made of plastic. This isn't entirely true, but it's harmful to produce and generates a lot of waste and it's not always the best material to use, it just happens to be cheap. Quit making and buying cheap things, disposable is the worst concept that I can think of. What could possibly be more short-sighted. With the reduction of plastic goods, reliance on Chinese manufacturing would decrease as well. I personally don't want to rely on China for anything.

4. Quit bailing out airlines. Nothing pollutes quite like airplanes. Everywhere else uses high-speed trains, why don't we? Because we hate trains? Unacceptable. Build high-speed trains that can be run on alternative fuels that will both pollute less and carry more people. If you're worried about all those miles of track that would cross the landscape, just remember how big a freaking airport is and imagine lining them all up next to each other across the country. You get the idea. One thing the government does that is irritating is that it supports the inefficient airline industry. Cheap flights are good for the economy, but flying in general is just a bad idea. If the economy can't support it, that says something.

5. Eliminate the suburbs. I live in the suburbs, I like them. But they suck. I have a job literally as close as possible to my house, and I HAVE to drive there. There is no decent infrastructure to walk/bike there (I refuse to bicycle on the freeway service drive), this is a waste. People need to man up and live closer together and closer to their workplace. The safety and luxury of the suburbs need to be translated to a more urban setting. In Latin American cities, the most expensive and safest property is in the middle of the city, like NYC. This is ideal, increased density saves tremendous amounts of energy. People appreciate green space more and treat it with more respect when there's less of it. Suburbs are wasteful and according to current research at Wayne State, they are actually a major contributor to the kind of lifestyle that led to the increase in American obesity.

That's enough for now...maybe I will have some more this weekend, but I had something else going in my mind today, I think I'm tackling universal healthcare next.

Goodnight