Power Up America

We certainly have gotten ourselves into a pickle relying on oil to power our way of life. Not only are we supporting oil rich regimes that may cause us harm, we may be destroying our children’s future by dumping over 5 million U.S. tons of pollution into the air each day from vehicles we drive. Isn't it about time we did a little real planning for the future?

Conversion from oil will not happen overnight. In the United States there are over 247 million registered passenger vehicles using over 43% of the entire U.S. petroleum consumption. The estimate is that they use over 500 million gallons of gasoline per day, which in turn spews over Five Million U.S. Tons of pollution into the air we breathe every day. What if we could change that picture and become a self-reliant, environmentally conscious Country once again?

Part of the solution is for our government to be more diligent in sponsoring a national conversion away from gasoline vehicles, to electric vehicles, truly efficient hybrids, and alternative propulsion vehicles. Right now there are available electric passenger vehicles that can travel over 60 mph for around 250 miles on a single three to four hour charge. There are better designs coming out on a regular basis. Electric vehicles do take power that can cause pollution under traditional generation methods. One immediate solution for this is to use currently available solar and wind technology to generate enough solar power to run our vehicles. Simply put we build fields of solar and wind power generation plants in underused U.S. areas, and increase our power distribution systems. Of course all of this would require massive labor and a commitment from the American people, that in turn may also help our Country.

Considering the current unemployment situation, we could re-institute the Civilian Conversation Corps for a project of this magnitude. At its peak over 505,000 were employed around the United States in an effort to combat unemployment and improve our Country. The CCC program was a fabulous success. We are still enjoying its benefits today. This would provide the needed labor for the project. Yes we would have to raise some money for this process. We could start by first adjusting the now still fictitious EPA estimated MPG on new vehicles to the actual MPG the end user really receives. Everyone knows the current numbers are 20% to 35% overstated. Then we could apply a fuel/sales tax on any vehicle not achieving over 35 MPG. We could also divert some of our military budget to this project, as oil from less stable countries will now be less important. Finally we could simply ask the American people to contribute. We would be amazed at how the support would flow towards something practical that would better our Country and improve our way of life. Just imagine the united power and creativity of the American people focused on effective positive change rather than wars.

This is the general outline: electric vehicles with fields of solar energy and wind energy making them go. Sounds like a massive undertaking but we could do it in a matter of years. The benefits are enormous; self-reliance, clean air, and clean environment, work for the unemployed, a growing productive economy, and most importantly a common positive goal focusing America on a brighter future. The sad alternative is continued reliance on foreign oil, possible new wars as oil becomes more precious, growing pollution threatening our health and planet, and a spiraling downward economy. What we need now from our elected officials is action, the kind of action, dedication, vision, and innovation that once took us to the moon. What we do not need is another study to skirt the issue, putting it off for the next generation to never resolve. We are at a crucial point in our development as a species, let’s all hope we have the courage to take the actions necessary today to get us through to tomorrow. 

Shout Out America Now