The United States of the Undecided and Uninformed....A Rant

Maybe I should give up watching PBS entirely.... or maybe the politicians running America's government should start watching, maybe they could learn a few things.

The years was 1973.... and America running on fumes. That was the first year of the first oil crisis.  Richard Milhous Nixon was the president, and his government was a mess, filled with paranoia and corruption.

Sad to say, he was elected twice, but his governing wasn't all bad (so I've been told), Russia and China were on speaking terms with him and the cold war was burning hot.

But the oil crisis was in full swing with an embargo on OPEC nations, the price of a gallon of gas skyrocketed from a meager 25 cents per gallon to 89 cents per gallon, almost a 400 percent increase, while wages remained low.

It was at this time Americans decided to find an alternative to fossil fuels, we were excited, eagerly waiting to see what was next on our horizons!  We watched, waited, worried (the 3W's)..... and nothing happened.  Oil hovered at a measly $12.00 a barrel, the powers that be assumed oil would remain stable.  The hunt for an alternative stagnated, stopped, withered away without a dying breath.

Now nearly 40 years later.....  gas prices haven't stablized..... the price of a barrel of oil is over $70.00
and gasoline prices are anyone's guess.

this week's prices....

next month's gas prices....

 

next year's gas prices....

Now, this morning... I'm sitting, stewing over my coffee, wondering how I'm going to afford two kids in college next fall.... gas prices are going through the ceiling, intuition's increasing, and no income increase for the second year in a row.... and with all this, we're still unable to get financial aid, we're just not poor enough. (Again I wish our money tree hadn't died, it must have been all that plucking.)

While I'm pondering, I decide to catch up on science news, so I dial up PBS on the ole tube... and what are they talking about.... the cost of oil and alternatives our government should be exploring.  I was amazed.... we are so far behind other countries!

Korea has increased research and production of hydrogen fuel cell powered cars and servicing stations, Japan has multiple entries into the hydrogen fuel cars and fuel production, China is developing possibilities, Nordic countries such as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway are making in roads, the UK has a developing program, and India has developed a motorcycle to run solely on hydrogen. Does anyone see the burgeoning problem here? Where's the freaking United States? Oh, I remember, Bush promised 1.7 billion to the oil companies and Detroit auto manufactures to explore other possibilities... that's right!! So, in all this mess, what have the oil companies and auto manufactures given us...? any body...? any where...? Bueller?

The United States is supposed to be one of the greatest super powers in the known world today.... how far behind do we have to get before taking our collective heads out of the sand? Arab nations are corrupt, look at Iran, look at what's happening in the news with Egypt, Libya, and the other nations across the Middle East. Despotism has raged out of control, and the people are upset.

What is it going to take in this country to get something done?

Obama has tried to turn the country around, health care reform, alternative fuels, green technologies... and at every turn, he's met with resistance. Maybe he's the wrong president to get the job done or the right president at the wrong time... I don't know, but this I do know. Families are slowly going broke and the recession doesn't seem to letting go of it's icy grip on the throat of the average person.

Anyway, these are my lunatical ramblings on this gloomy Sunday (maybe I've been trapped in the house for too long.... maybe I'm watching too much PBS.... maybe I should put my nose back in a book and stop whining....).  LOL and I'm giving up coffee.... (no I'm really not, but all of this did start over a steaming cup a joe).