The need for a radical energy policy 

Toward a new energy policy - - The Washington Times, America’s Newspaper: “Terrorist training camps and insurgents in Iraq and elsewhere are funded by Saudi and Iranian petrodollars. So are bounties for families of suicide bombers. It is incredible: by buying Saudi-controlled OPEC oil we finance a war against ourselves.”

“For all these reasons, as well as for our long-term economic and security concerns, we must break our addiction to oil. Now, there are some naive people who believe we can somehow make the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries change its ways. This is unrealistic. OPEC will never be brought under control. The evidence is clear: OPEC’s price-fixing is not only a crime under U.S. law but is banned by international law as well.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) contains antitrust provisions and outlaws conspiracies to fix markets and permits member nations to prosecute all parties to such conspiracies. But successful challenges to OPEC’s price-fixing will not happen in the real world.”

I agree with you that we need to become energy independent but I disagree with some of your statements. You say OPEC can never be brought under control and then you say OPEC is breaking international law. Yet, you do not explain why members of the WTO cannot prosecute the obvious price fixing conspiracy of OPEC. Why have international laws and agreements if they cannot be enforced? But, assumings you are right, there are other ways to bring OPEC down.

I disagree with your conclusions of how we will free ourselves of oil dependence. Alcohol will play a small role but it should not be our major focus it may do more harm than good. Bio diesel or coal slurry would make more sense although neither will be clean fuels. Having said that, here is what I believe we really need to do.

Convert the whole Nevada nuclear test range and nuclear waste storage above ground areas to solar collectors. This eminence land area will cost us nothing and the land is useful for nothing else. Energy for solar electric when mass produced using the latest technology and technology that is now under development can be produced at less than the cost of coal.

So what does that have to do with cars and fuel oil? All cars should be converted to solar because once we get these solar stations up and running there will be a huge surplus of electric. Much of that surplus electric could either be converted to hydrogen or more likely our cars could just use electric motors and quick charge stations.

One major problem has been the limitations of batteries. The answer probably is not in a better longer range battery. The answer is in a super capacitor that will recharge in the time it now takes to fill your tank with gas and that will provide a three hundred mile range between recharges. That technology is now already under development. When the solar pieces come together you will be able to power your car for a couple of cents per mile. There already is plenty of off hour night time generating capacity in the US to power most of the cars in the US. All this could be phased in, within one decade.

All we really need to get this rolling is for big money to get behind this project and for the oil lobby and special interest politicians to butt out. Google has started the funding process pledging hundred of millions of dollars, now where are the multi billion dollar foundations and the capitalists?

After all, only the survival of Western civilization is at state. No, I am not talking about global warming hype although going solar would address rising CO2 concerns as well. I am talking about enemies of Western civilization selling oil at extortion rates and then using the money from us to undermine our society.