10 Reasons Why High Gas Prices Are Good

There was an interesting article, 10 Things You Can Like About $4 Gas, on the Times website. It did give some good examples of how the high cost in gas is forcing changes.

Yes there is good to be found in just about anything if you look hard enough. So people are being forced to change their lives because of the high cost of gas. The problem is that the changes that need to be done now are not being done. People are being forced to change or go hungry. Their money is going to pay for gas and they don’t have money to buy the new products that will save them money.

It does us no good to question why alternative sources for fuel and power were not being invested into the last 30 years. It is not like we did not know this was going to happen. Most people just assumed it would not happen in his or her life. Well it is and now we have to deal with it before it takes us down. I want to be able to feed my kids not worry about being able to get to work because I have to decide to put gas in the car or food on the table.

We need to have bigger changes that just looking for better fuel-efficient cars or ones that run on alternative fuels. We need to start using solar panels, wind harvesters, water wheels, and the new H20 engines. India is doing it look at the new National Action Plan on Climate Change the Prime Minister of India just put into place. Holland and other countries have been doing this for years. We need to start incorporating their technology and know how into our way of life. Stop thinking about consumption and start thinking about creating energy. It is not good enough to try and conserve now, it is time to actually change how we do things.

If we could put solar panels on every home, and building and use the energy generated from just that think about how much of a change that alone would make. Add wind harvesters in open areas, some that we cannot live on or farm, and there is a huge source of energy. We have a lot of options now, but we need people and companies to start investing into the changes and doing it. Then we need the Government to support it, and make it easer for people to start changing. New buildings should be required to incorporate the use of solar energy technology and other forms of harvesting and conserving energy. There is a lot that can be done, but it is not being done even though we all know it needs to be done. Why can India as a country make these changes but we don’t?

Why are we only looking at alternative energy sources now?

Those of us in industrialized countries have become too complacent with our dependence on oil and other energy sources. We expect it to be there for use in our lifetime and our children’s. As a result we have not treated it as a precious resource to be conserved. We have not utilized all our resources as people in third world countries do. We are used to plenty and even though we say the words conserve, recycle, reuse we don’t do it to the same degree as impoverished countries.

Many years ago I watch a show on a village in Africa that was having a fuel shortage. The solution was to make methane gathering equipment and storage. This was a pit where animal waste was placed, a plastic cover, like a large bag was placed over it. The methane gas built up and would rise up through tubes into a plastic bag or bladder. Another tube came from the bladder to the cooking area. The tube was closed using something like a close pin. When fire was needed the close pin was removed and the methane was lit. This was very resourceful and cheep. Though I felt that more safety precautions were needed to prevent a bad fire explosion.

It is all in a person’s perception. We see animal poop as something to get rid of or use as fertilizer. Though even then we have gone to chemical fertilizers in some places. We complain that all the cow poop out there is causing an increase in the worlds temperature. Though we actually know it is our cars and factory’s. Why are we not harvesting the naturally occurring methane? I am sure we can come up with much more efficient and safe ways to harvest and use methane from animal waste. It is a renewable energy source, and we can still use it as fertilizer after. I think it would also be a cleaner source of energy the burning coal to make electricity.

Other countries, not just third world countries, are using every resource they have to have cheep, clean fuel and energy resources. Why are we not doing the same? Solar, wind and water have been used through out history as a source of energy, why do we use it in such limited capacity. Why are we only now creating wind and solar energy farms? Why have we not been using these resources all along? I know, oil was cheep and easy to use. So what if there were consequences such as high pollution, it would not be our or our kid’s problem. Well now it is. We have to make some quick changes on how we do things.

The only way things are going to change is if we start making changes as individuals and demanding changes in and how we get our energy. There are farms in Sweden that generate enough energy, using wind, that they actually sell the excess to a power company. That is one farm. What could we do if we all found ways to generate energy for our own homes using wind, solar, water or even on a farm animal waste?

Our huge garbage dumps are already creating a lot of heat. It is actually a problem in the waste management field. Why are we not finding a way to use this? It is not like we are going to stop making garbage. As it is there are not enough places to put it so we end up burning it or trying to bury it. Why are we not utilizing this? Are we so far removed from nature and need that we are going just keep wasting things? So what if we are not at the point that it is a necessity to keep our family warm and fed. Do we have to get to the point where it is a necessity before we take advantage of what we already have?

Once we were as needy and resourceful as the poor people in third world countries struggling to live. What is it going to take for use to wake up and start being that resourceful again? Gas and energy prices are just going to keep going up and we are already behind in using alternative fuel sauces. We need to catch up as a country and make use of what is there, not what is easy right now.

Revolutionary air car runs on compressed air

A French company has developed a pollution-free car which runs on compressed air. India's Tata Motors has the car under production and it may be on sale in Europe and India by the end of the year. The air car can be refueled in minutes from an air compressor and can go 200 km on a 1.5 euro fill-up -- roughly 125 miles for $3.

I want one of these cars.

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