Greetings. Thanks for stopping by the group space for my book, Freedom from Oil.
Over the next few months we will be exploring our addiction to oil as well as the economic, environmental, and national security issues associated with the current energy crisis - all as oil is flirting with reaching the $100 per barrel mark.
Not to worry, we will also discuss solutions for solving this problem, including my vision for ending our dependence on oil. I will also share with you profiles of extraordinary individuals who are doing important work to help bring serious policy dialogue to life - from a commander of U.S. forces in Iraq to the winner of the Indy 500. How did I get here you may ask?
Well, in summer 2006, I had lunch with Newt Gingrich. Within weeks, I had dinner with Howard Dean. At these meals I asked Gingrich and Dean the same question: "What should the United States do about its dependence on oil?"
Both men gave basically the same answer.
Both Gingrich and Dean said oil dependence is a pressing national security problem that must be addressed as a matter of priority.
Both Gingrich and Dean said ethanol is an important part of the solution.
Both Gingrich and Dean said a Manhattan Project-type program is needed to develop technologies to help free us from oil dependence.
Both Gingrich and Dean said the fuel efficiency of our auto fleet must improve.
Hearing Newt Gingrich and Howard Dean utter almost the same words was an "aha!" moment for me. If Newt Gingrich and Howard Dean mostly agree, I wondered, might it be possible to get something done?
Washington, D.C., these days is consumed by a poisonous political culture. Deep disagreements divide liberals and conservatives on most issues. But this issue seemed different.
I started cataloguing the positions of other major political figures on oil dependence. I discovered an astonishing amount of agreement across the political spectrum. The consensus was not complete, by any means. Yet the similarities far outweighed the differences.
I discovered that politicians from President George W. Bush to Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) to Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) to Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) were highlighting the importance of the issue and calling it a pressing national priority. I discovered that an overwhelming majority of the Americanpublic believe oil dependence is a problem that must be solved.
So I dug deeper. I explored the ways we use oil, the reasons we do so and the problems oil creates. I researched substitutes for oil and ways to use oil more efficiently. I examined the policies we've adopted sofar, why they've had such limited success and what it would take to do more.
My book is a product of this research, which led me to this insight - that it will take presidential leadership in order to end our oildependence. Freedom from Oil tells this story - providing a fictional account of how the next President of the United Statescould help end our dependence on oil.
Finally, a caveat. My proposals are not the only answer to the problem of oil dependence. There are many good ideas. Yet the proposals and idea that I put forward could change the lives of our children and grandchildren. They are an attempt to grapple with one of the most challenging questions of our time. I hope you'll consider them.
Looking forward to our discussion.
__________________________________________________________________
For more information about David Sandalow and his book Freedom from Oil, please visit www.freedomfromoilbook.com.
To read more articles from David Sandalow, visit the McGraw-Hill Group.
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Comments: 21
In my huble opinion, here's how to "start something":
1. Massive shift to telework (as well as creative scheduling -and- strategic relocations);
2. Subsidized bicycle program coupled with truly safe parkings;
3. Free (or nearly free) public transit services, including smaller "flexible shuttles" serving particular needs;
4. Membership-based car fleet communities (ideally coupled with the public transit and a public network of free bicycles);
5. A major shift back to human-sized cities (or neighborhoods) designed by skilled urbanists who are allergic to our current dead-ended "boxed-in mentality".
Add municipal programs to install high-efficiency solar panels, home wind turbines, rain water recuperation, filtration and purification system for each home, geothermy, eco-friendly building materials like hemp, straw bale and bamboo... and things could be looking up — on all fronts, simulatenously.
Oil can be used in countless other "products", from lipstick to plastics but in our cars, it's a huge waste because even the best cars on Earth have a hard time burning over 14% of the gas in their tank... so at the very least, 86% goes back to pollute the environment DIRECTLY which, of course, is totally unacceptable.
As a society, we need way less lawyers and a lot more engineers.
Furthermore, everything that gets developed in "public" laboratories (including all our universities) should be made automatically "open source" because right now, the good ideas that emerge that could help save the Earth get locked down by the petro-oligarchy pulling all the strings with an endless stream of money at their disposal.
The profoudly perverted model where a car has to go to a pump to be able to then go places is a complete farce in our modern era where "The Jetsons" should already be "the standard" (especially in the all-important field of transportation).
The petro-gazillionnaires (less than 0.00000000000001% of the human population) are the single biggest threat to freedom, true prosperity and energetic independance, for all humans, on this planet.
I can't wait to read your book!
Obviously there are some very entrenched interests that are not as bothered by the situation that exists today...The CEO of Exxon Mobile, for example, a company sitting on $67 billion in cash and current receivables - had he been lunching with you - he might not have been so committed to change.
Of course, if the oil industry can see the wave of a new opportunity here, that might be a different matter.
I sincerely hope you can be effective in the face of the power of money which seems to dominate Washington these days, and I wish you the best.
Your message is vital.
I am not a socialist, just a good Democrat, but it is hard to see how there can be sweeping reform of the oil industry (a private concern) without nationalizing it. Yes, it sounds radical, and I am quite sure it could never happen in a country so fueled by business, but the forces of oil are mighty indeed.
So far, it seems that most of the talk has been at the margins of how to improve things. I admire what Claude (above) has to suggest, but I feel like we are grasping at straws at this point.
How can the US take a major leap forward? Is it feasible? I look forward to your future discussions.
My impression also that while "everyone" agrees that energy independence is highest priority, there are vast differences on what the solutions are. Democrats seem to favor renewables, as can be seen in the watered down energy bill that w. just signed. Republicans favor nuclear energy expansion, which is an extremely expensive distraction, not only with regard to energy independence, but also with regard to climate change.
I would be interested in reading your book if it addresses these issues.
We need to bring our work to ourselves, and stop zooming all over the continent to earn our living. I may drive 50 miles a week, including all my work transportation. The answer is not really better cars, in my opinion, it's fewer cars.
Your thoughts?
The biggest reduction can easily be attained when people realize they need to economize on goods that are products of oil, meaning plastic and such.
The shift should be toward ecology, frugality in use of resources and alternative transportation. The open economy of the US does not serve us well, it only enrichs the few at the expense of our economy as a whole.
I would like to see the brain of someone who can look at the entire economy and respercussion of the market to make decision for a solution that will secure the country economically both nationally and globally.
One of the faults is the expectations are always for unlimited growth versus changes in where and how we grow.
Socialism is not a bad word, we are already socialistic as for our education system, a good mix of democracy and socialism never hurt anything provided people are honest and ethical.
The bottom line is that we the people have to rise to the occasion and begin making the changes we would like to see nationally.
When we manage our lives in a responsible manner and act financially prudent the economy will respond accordingly.
The brick wall that we ran into, was that the price of gasoline at the pump. Back in the 70s gas had to reach a price of two dollars a gallon. It didn t so we dissolved the business. It s time to take another look and promote this small scale technology to produce, on an individual basis, stills and ethanol for use in fuel. If you know a good plumber he can help you buy the right copper and some marbles and you are on your way.