We all should not be so surprised regarding the energy crisis many of us around the world are now facing. It has been a long time coming. I am old enough to remember the gas lines of the 1970’s here in the United States, and the many who lined up during those times to wait for hours to fill up their gas tanks speaking among themselves that this has to change. Fast forward thirty plus years and guess what? Very little, if not anything, on a grand scale, has changed!

Oil and gas are now higher in demand than ever before. While the Middle East pushes supply more and more, the increased supplies can no longer keep up with demands. Added to the problem is the argument of whether speculators are pushing the prices even higher. This is not really addressing the problem….what we are faced with is an addiction to oil and a rejection or stubborness to try other forms of energy. In the short term, whether we like it or not, to get to where we need to be we are going to have to adapt some form of combination of solar, wind, electric and dare I say, nuclear power. One alone will not be enough…and will take too long to get us to energy independence.

Some countries are already there….France for instance has fully adapted nuclear power. Yet a lot of us look like a bunch of bumbling fools arguing over every detail, while nothing gets done and Winter is fastly approaching. Have the chickens come home to roost? You betchya! Many are running around the hen house looking at each other saying, “What do we do? What do we do?” At the current rate of oil increases, it just may be possible that there will be some coal under the Christmas tree, with a little Spam on the dinner table. Santa Claus this year may just have to settle for half the milk and cookies!

Hey, you’ve got to laugh….I look at my car and I can slowly hear a voice saying, “Feed me!” And when I open my wallet, I hear an eerie sound croaking, “Is that all you’ve got?” No joking….many are feeling the pinch! Here in the United States the state of Utah is going to a four day work week, for the workers and the state to save on energy. I’m sure more states will follow. It is a crisis and I do believe some incredible innovation and good will come out of this, in the end. We’ve been lazy too long…there are solutions…we just have to think and be realistic. The world is growing, and so must we. The day of having one dominant force for energy is coming to an end.

Hybrid cars, electric cars, who knows what’s next? But we will look back and question why we settled for so few miles to the gallon….future generations will shake their heads and wonder why it took us so long. I still look at rooftops and say to myself, why don’t they all have solar panels? I know it’s expensive, but like everything else, as more people use them, the cost will go down. Look at the plasma television screens…remember how expensive they were at the beginning? We will innovate and we’ll obtain a more personal understanding of what powers our lives and heats our homes.

Conservation and a little innovation can do wonders. We all just have to learn in government, work, and life, to compromise.

Be energized,

Jennifer Avalon

© 2008 Jennifer Avalon