7 Steps to Solve the Energy Crisis

COMMUNITY NEWS

The English language contains a few terms that instantly elicit prolonged brooding when read or spoken aloud. One is death. One is congressional report. And these days, another of those words, one which doesn't usually warrant the aforementioned serious reaction, is is "energy." When partnered with the word "crisis," it has the odd effect of baffling politicians, scientists, and the rest of the world community.

Nobody has yet offered a comprehensive solution to the energy crisis. We hear bits and pieces of advice almost daily. Sometimes, we even get short or partial solutions, such as the Pickens Plan. But, for some reason, nobody has addressed the entire whopping problem.

So I decided to. Who am I? My name is Drea, and I'm the senior blogger at BusinessPundit.com. I'm no energy guru, but since the gurus weren't giving any decent answers, I decided to research my own. After careful research, I came up with a comprehensive plan, called the Business Pundit Energy Plan.

Here's the premise. Cheap oil, whether due to peak oil or not, is over. Starting now, we need to wean ourselves off this expensive fossil fuel and find something sustainable. That is, an energy system that:

a) Is not subject to mining, and therefore will not be prone to depletion;
b) Sustains an active, healthy economy in a nationally secure setting.

The solutions appear to be endless, both in political and economic realms. Increase nuclear reactors? Run cars on natural gas? Burn trash for energy? Institute stringent speed limits and cap-and-trade programs?

I sorted through a slew of reports, comments, and statistics to come up with a plan that makes sense for both sustainability and the economy. The seven main points of the plan are as follows:

1. The ultimate goals of a sustainable national energy structure are electrification, flex power, and a smart grid.

2. Flex power should be based on large-scale nuclear, wind and solar power, supplemented by localized alternative energy sources.

3. Flex power sources will feed into an adaptable smart grid, whose use ebbs and flows based on actual capacity.

4. Electrify transportation through increased rail infrastructure, suburban restructuring, and electric vehicles.

5. Wean the economy from grease to juice by cleaning up coal, upping natural gas usage, and conservatively drilling for oil while manically focusing on the smart grid, flex energy, and electrification.

6. Cut personal, industrial, and commercial demand through market forces and regulation to transition from oil to flex power.

7. Use the resources we have—the electric grid, buildings, trains—and adapt them to become sustainable.

Please find the entire plan here.

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