[Sidney Lanier]

What saddens me is how little Joe American says about alternative energy, which he mentions twice only in passing. At this moment we are sitting in our Courtyard Hotel room in Page, AZ looking out at Lake Powell and, just beyond it, the Navajo Power Plant (huge!). Its fuel? Coal. Good old American coal, and with today's technology, not releasing pollutants into the air, and a fuel for which the reserves are almost immeasurable.

In April we were on a river cruise in France, where every x number of miles we passed a nuclear power plant. These were not built Chernobyl style but, again with today's technology, with safety features that would prevent a nuclear disaster. Much of Europe derives its electricity from alternative energy sources--wind, solar, and so forth. Not here in the U.S. Why?

Twenty-two years ago we ourselves installed a solar water heating system in our home in the Mid-Hudson Valley of NY (which has paid for itself over and over). To this day this setup supplies 100% of our domestic hot water during the summer and serves as a pre-heater during the winter, so our well water, which comes out of the ground at about 42 degrees, is warmed to whatever extent before it hits the boiler. But at that time (1986), all research, grants, considerations for alternative energy were effectively killed, most likely in an attempt to keep the focus on oil, IMHO.

Today we are paying the price for this in our dependence on oil, whether domestic or OPEC or other sources, and we know who's reaping such huge profits from it. Some of what Joe American is suggesting may be viable in the long term, but it sure isn't going to help truckers who have to pass on the cost of fuel to consumers; it won't help the low- and even middle-income wage earners who have to buy gas to get to work; and it certainly won't help those in the northern part of our country who will have astronomical heating bills this coming winter, many of whom don't even realize what's coming in just a matter of months.

Several years ago I organized a 'mini-oil cartel' to buy heating oil in bulk from our largest local supplier who gave us a break because of the number of gallons we bought and paid for up front and my doing all the organizing and work for them. It started with two of our sons (one a large commercial account) and us; last year two other households--friends--joined us; and this year three more are joining in. However, last year's base price was $2.799/gallon, reduced to $2.499 plus a discounted service plan. This year the base price is starting at $4.649 and I don't know yet what the final price will be; they are still negotiating. Nearly double!!!

In other words, on an immediate basis, the fecal matter is about to hit the fan--and we are in deep excrement, IMHO--and if we don't know it, we're going to find out very, very shortly....