What is the "next big thing"? Is it the hybrid car? Is it hydrogen-powered vehicles? Is it nanotechnology? Stem cell research? The new Internet? Cell phones? Nuclear powered plants? Clean coal technology? Fuel cells? Solar panels? Oil from corn? Communication among gadgets?
I don't know. Maybe one or some of these things may lead to the "next big thing," but no one knows. However, I am reasonably certain that the "next big thing" should be a new form of sustainable energy. Why? There are two big reasons: First, our dependence on fossil fuels is causing global warming and unhealthy pollution, which are playing havoc with the world. Second, every time we buy oil we are sending money to terrorists who have sworn to bury us. As Tom Friedman told Tim Russert:
"Green is the new red, white and blue."
We must launch a big American project to find the "next big energy thing." Most of us are upset when we go to the pump and pay over $3 for a gallon of gas. This is merely the beginning. The only way for gas prices to go in the future is up. The reason is simple: oil is harder to find and demand for it is zooming. As gas prices rise, conflicts among nations are bound to increase.
The Energy Project should take about 10 years, and its purpose should be to do R & D for the development of an energy system that can serve the needs of the Globe and at the same time develop an industry that is profitable and the source for permanent high-paying American jobs. The energy system should meet many requirements, among the most important being:
- Sustainable
- Clean
- Portable - Specific energy devices should be portable
- Safe
- Globally friendly - Little pollution or other unhealthy conditions
- Relatively cheap
I'm not talking about a purely technical project. A huge task like this requires people of many different types of skills. To get an idea of the complexity of the project, you should realize that today petroleum is used for heat, transportation, new materials, food, packaging, housing, roads ... It is hard to find an industry that does not depend in some way on petroleum or petroleum products. So, replacing petroleum with something else, requires us to consider all the interlocking relationships. This means that, in addition to
we should include:
- Economists
- Transportation experts
- Architects
- Lawyers
- Educators
- Sociologists
- Housing Experts
The project should be big and it will be expensive. I don't know how much money will be needed. But if we can spend several hundred billion dollars for a war in Iraq, surely we can afford a hundred billion to keep our country economically strong.
The "next big thing" must be sustainable energy. With a big investment, America can be the first to achieve and profit most from this "next big thing."
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