Energy Independence NOW!

Really? Maybe not, but I was just thinking about what I feel is the single most important issue in our world today.

Energy independence.

Yes, yes, gas prices have fallen back to the $1.70 mark versus the $4.10 we had a couple of months ago but this won't last either.

Now is the time for our government to take action and make the search for an alternative and renewable fuel a reality.

Just like the Manhattan Project or putting a man on the moon. We need to gather the best and brightest and solve this issue within 5 years or 10 at the most. (I was saying this a year before I heard Obama preaching it and I'm thrilled to here him say the same now.)

It's time to make the Middle East irrelevant. (We'll deal with Russia and Venezuela later.)

We are a country of innovators and achievers and there's no doubt in my mind that we will find the answer. However, the whole concept of "may the best man win" with a multitude working on alternative fuels independently may not be the best for our country right now.

Maybe we need an X-Prize type solution to find the answer, but I believe it will take old fashioned government intervention.

Japan's national cellular phone system is far more advanced than ours and always ahead of the curve and this is because they have a national standard.

Why can't our government start a top secret research lab to solve the problem and then mandate standards?

Granted government standards aren't always the best or most effective but we really need to come to a common solution sooner rather than later or things will only get worse.