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Why won't candidates debate energy issues?
By Mark Neckameyer

 

April 23, 2008
Wednesday


Letter to the Editor;

Seems like every day crude oil prices hit another record. Every day airfares go up due to fuel costs along with the price of everything that has to be shipped. Food prices are soaring as grains are being used to make ethanol ... A lot of good that seems to do ... And there is no end in sight. The bad actors in the Middle East and in Venezuela control crude oil supplies and cutting consumption here in the US won't help as demand is growing so fast in Russia, India and especially China. Combined, the puplulations of those nations are eight or nine times our population and they are busily industrializing and buying cars. For all the talk the presidential candidates hammer away on in ads and debates, with all their arcane, indistinguishable plans for problems like health care, they don't touch the oil crisis except to somehow blame the current administration. The solution to all this seems so simple too.

1. Drill in all the places where we have oil including our ocean coasts in Florida, Texas and California and in Alaska. Sure, be careful and environmentally sensitive but get going ... NOW!

2. Build new, modern nuclear plants and use them to generate all our electricity thereby saving oil and not burning air polluting coal. This cleans the air, reduces "greenhouse" gasses and cuts down oil use. They do it in Europe so why not here?

3. Let's do a major, Manhattan Project style program to figure out how to make hydrogen fuel practical. If we can use nuclear power to extract hydrogen, the "H" in H2O from sea water and use it in cars and planes then our problem will be solved. We would have no pollution while enjoying unlimited amounts of energy.

Why won't our candidates talk about energy? Don't they see depression, wars and famines looming if they do nothing?

Mark Neckameyer
Irvine, CA

Received April 22, 2008 - Published April 23, 2008

 

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