Earth Day Deserves Its Own Blog

Once upon a time, a Senator who was tired of industries polluting the water and air that his constituents were exposed to took a stand.  His name was Sen. Gaylord Nelson.  A year later, the EPA was born and our country at least had an agency to monitor our environment.  Around that time, we had Rachael Carson write A Silent Spring, pointing out that our industries' pollutants affect more than just people.  We now have a threshold that polluters can't cross legally.  The air may not be totally clean, but its not toxic.  And here we are now, heavily dependent on oil that we buy from other nations, with oil companies inflating prices and the CEOs flaunting their wealth. The Department of Energy and our esteemed President need to take the same stand that Senator Nelson took before, and make the bold change that was campaigned about.


I'm not talking about price fixing.  I'm talking about alternative energy and incentives to develop, construct, and use it.  Wind turbines, nuclear energy, solar panels, and hydrogen cars are just four things I've heard in the last ten years.  Energy experts have known about alternative sources of energy for a long time, but alternative energy hasn't had a champion.  In fact, alternative energy had a powerful enemy -- oil.  The oil industry really, really didn't want the competition.  The CEOs and Board members really liked lining their pocket.  But guess what -- President Obama is a man who championed change.  President Obama could champion alternative energy, aka: change, through the Department of Energy.   

Last night on TV I watched actress Jennifer Garner go to West Virginia homes where the parents are so poor, they turn on the oven rather than the heat in winter.  Even here in Virginia, during the winter, there are ads on the radio about what people can do if they can't afford heat.  Doesn't it say something, when states that are not even considered northern states have people that can't afford heat?  Doesn't it say that the price of oil, and consequently the price of heat, is too high?  If this great capitalistic country doesn't want a price fix for oil, then oil needs competition!  Any product that has a monopoly is happy to charge the highest price it can.  Without competition for oil, those poor families will never be warm in winter.  Luckily for us, we have the option of competition -- alternative sources for energy.  And just so we all know, it's out there.  Dominion allowed me to select the use of alternative energy for my household.  Oh yea, alternative energy is out there.  It just needs a powerful champion.  Oh, are we talking about the Department of Energy and President Obama again?  What a coincidence. ;-)


Today, on Earth Day, I put aside places to go and write about, and I pick up my pen for the Earth, our home.  I pick up my pen and say to you that our leadership needs to be bold and brave and really push the Department of Energy to push alternative energy.  If you haven't heard it yet, you heard it here first.  Happy Earth Day.