[rickc]

Pure laziness on our part is why we are in this situation.I remember the oil shortages in the 1970's.We were looking for alternatives to oil 40 years ago.Then the price of oil came down,and alternatives went by the wayside.The timber industry in Maine generates mountains of scrap wood.I remember when they were building scrap wood plants for power production.The price of oil dropped,and they idled the plants.

I am not a fan of big government.However one big government project I could support would be a modern day "manhattan project".Gather the greatest minds together and come up with a workable alternative to petroleum.We can send a man to the moon with 1960's technology,we can get off of our lazy asses and become energy independant.