Embracing the inevitable

         The world consumes over 90 million barrels of oil per day.   With increased economic growth that figure will continue to rise.  Also, the CO2 level in the atmosphere will rise in lockstep with this increased  economic activity.  War or not, the price of oil will continue to rise on the world market.   

         We have had numerous opportunities over the last 50 years to switch to cleaner energy and avoid ecological catastrophe.   A modest tax on each barrel of crude would have funded the research into renewables.  Unfortunately, whenever such a tax was discussed it was immediately put down as inimical to the free market.   Now we are reaping what we have sowed.   We are now in the 11th hour and Vladimir Putin is ironically doing us a favor with his brutal invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent turmoil in the energy markets.

       Now is the time to declare war on fossil fuels.   We need to jumpstart energy research into fusion technology, electric vehicles and solar and wind energy.   Government subsidies in all these areas need to increase exponentially.   We can still do this, but it will take political will on the part of Democrats and patriotic Republicans.