The Prices, They Are A-Changin!

Bob Dylan said it in his song, “The Times, They Are A-Changin.” And when it comes to energy, the times have changed. We have found that the times have changed from an abundance of available energy reserves to seemingly that of teetering on the brink of shortages.

Now, a new tune might be better titled “Prices, They Are A-Changin.” The hard undeniable fact is that cheap and abundant energy, the very stuff that helped make this nation great are no longer either cheap or seemingly abundant.

The history of this country has been one of having and using vast energy resources. It’s that availability and the development of technologies to develop the resources that has helped make this country great.

When the first Europeans arrived they found vast forests which supplied them a seemingly infinite amount of wood to heat their homes and to stoke their forges.

Through the 1600’s and into the 1700’s the colonies grew and prospered. One reason for their growth and prosperity was the abundance of water to power their grain and saw mills.

Then, what should be awaiting the industrial revolution when it came to this young nation in the 1800’s? Coal. Coal was plentiful. Throughout the nineteenth century coal driven steam engines powered the boats, the trains, and the factories that through the decades drove the engines of commerce.

When the internal combustion engine made its entrance, again, as if by magic the United States was blessed with an abundant resource. This time it was petroleum that could be refined into gasoline and diesel fuel. And again the economy grew and prospered as a direct consequence of the combination of ample petroleum resources and the internal combustion engine’s proliferation across the landscape.

Now, a very serious question confronts us. What happens when a society faces the prospect of continuously increasing energy prices and energy shortages? Answer: Inflation, unemployment, and worse; a spiraling decrease in the standard of living of its citizens.

The irony is the United States really doesn’t have an energy resource shortage. The nation faces a shortage of the will to act in becoming energy independent. Coal, oil shale, hydrogen, biofuels, solar, wind and other alternative sources all hold the promise for both short term solutions and long term solutions.

There is even a possibility of the discovery and development of an energy source that is not even currently perceived as existing. Does that prospect seem far fetched? Think about this. Who knew about gasoline in the 1850’s? Few if any visionaries in the mid 19th century could imagine the impact of gasoline, the internal combustion engine and the network of highways that tied this nation together in the 20th century.

The predictable technological future of those 19th century experts was steam engine driven technology. They could not foresee the amazing changes in energy resources and technology that propelled us through the 20th century. It just may be that there is a great and wonderful and unexpected technological energy surprise awaiting us. Even if there isn’t there are many options near at hand that can provide us USA Energy Independence,

However, unless we act… Unless our leaders forge a Declaration of USA Energy Independence policy that attacks our dependency on offshore oil, you, and I, our children and grandchildren will pay the consequences. Instead of continuing to be a nation built on a combination of abundant energy resources that are utilized to continually raise the standard of living, we will decline to a second rate power, faced with not only food shortages, but shortages of almost everything.


Keith Sanderson is co-founder USA-EI