2.99 a gallon for gas... You must be kidding

Something's up, Noah never posts twice in a few days. Well, I'm trying to give yall reasons to keep returning to this my cyber soapbox. I drove home yesterday, and noticed that the old Mazda was near empty. So I went into my favorite gas station/florist shop and filled up. For those of you that don't know I'm pretty cheap; and I follow that same philosophy when it comes to my car. So when my favorite gas station (the cheapest in the area) is charging $2.99 and9/10 cents for a gallon of gas, I figure it is time to do a little research. CNN did a story on Brazil and their alternative fuels, just this past weekend. Why is Brazil leading the world and the U.S.A. is not. I am a big fan of Carnaval, but just because they can throw a heck of a party does not mean that we should be held hostage by some politically unstable governments, and the Brazilians get to solve the problem by growing one more stalk of corn. There are numerous alternatives to petroleum. One quick look brings this website. We have been researching automobile fuel since the time of Titusville, Pennsylvania and the Model T. Any rational person would think that while we might not be using the technology that the Jetson's space cars show, we could at least be farther ahead than 1975. Let's examine some options. The most obvious, and easiest, is for the country to stay in the current energy situation. This will undoubtedly lead to higher prices and continued reliance on foreign governments that are unreliable at best. This is not to mention the environmental implications. There are numerous alternatives, and most of them would allow the President to declare our energy independence without killing those cuddly bears in ANWR, or upsetting those maniacal tree huggers to which I sympathize. For the sake of argument I'm going to skip the "dirty" energy sources, those that would continue to damage the environment the same or even more than we are now, and stick with "cleaner" options. First, I would like to say that the President was on the right track when he mentioned ethanol. This seems to be the most obvious; as mentioned above, Brazil is already using it. Let me be the 1st to offer up my bottle of Stoli for the cause. If my giving up booze will get me to work for a week or two, then call me Carrie Nation. Other options are available. Nuclear technology might not be available for individual cars, but for large-scale projects. This type of fuel rightfully, scares Americans. There are memories of Three Mile Island and Saturday Night Live. Considering that today is the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, this topic is quite timely.

Biofuels are gaining popularity by the day. This goes back to the ethanol and Brazil idea. I'm willing to support overproduction of Duff beer if that will lower my gasoline bill. Maybe we can put Mo Sizlack in charge as the alternative fuels czar. These are options that have been floating around for 50 plus years. Even hemp is being pushed as an energy option.

Now don't get me wrong, these were ideas that both Democrats and Republican Administrations ignored. The Dems had the White House for much of the 90s and did nothing. The Republicans had the White House for much of the 80s and did nothing. Well, here is a chance to do something. Here is a chance to strengthen our national security. Declare our energy independence. I'm sick of hearing about that. Speak through actions not words.

The President and his top aides are now starting to worry about his legacy. Well, instead of loosening pollution controls on big oil or adding to Exxon's tax cuts, take that money and put this country on track toward biofuels, or some other option. Helping my wallet in the short term and my planet in the long term would help his legacy quite a bit.