The current BP oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico presents the leadership of the US an opportunity to push for energy independence. Our US society is dependent on abundant, inexpensive, and portable energy in order to sustain our consumer society and economy. After Katrina and the rise of oil to over 100$ a barrel, the US saw what life would be like with either little or very expensive energy. With the typical price per gallon over $4, the middle and lower class workers greatly reduced their travel which immediately resulted in lower economic activity. This effect was short lived as the global recession in 2007 greatly eased the demand and prices quickly went back to their pre-Katrina prices but not before giving everyone a look over the edge.
What else is at stake? America has tied up a lot of money in debt. We have tried to stimulate the economy through tax cuts, used social programs and incentives to help those in need, and tried to secure the middle east in order to ensure the availability of oil/power and generally being a world power. It has all added up to a lot of debt which could strangle the US to death if the foreign powers that hold those loans call them in or raise the interest rate. We need energy independence. World Police, sure we can do that. But the pressure to have military presences in foreign countries in order to maintain stability, peace, whatever, would be lifted. The world would be more black and white. If Darfur or Rwanda had oil, those atrocities would have never happened.
Bottom line, its coming. Regardless of the advances in technologies the use of petroleum as a primary fuel source for energy will in our life times end. And it will take 5-10 years to roll out whatever new technology takes its place. You have those that buy the first generation and those that have to wait for the first generation to sell theirs to the rest of us, the trickle down affect. So now is the time. Green is a huge industry, but it needs a push. It needs leadership and it needs to be a money generating initiative. Incentives, tax breaks, whatever…the more people research it, build it, and use it (whatever it may be) the faster we can adopt it and move on so we can focus on America being America and less about worrying where our next barrel of oil is coming from.