Man on the Moon Redux

Well, it’s been a long time since I posted to this little blog, but I’ve received some encouraging comments from some of you out there, so I figured it was time to come back. 

Today I want to address something on everyone’s mind – energy. It’s obviously a hot topic, and with good reason. Who though that we would ever see $4/gallon gas in the US?  Prices are coming down a little, but nearly everyone agrees that they’ll never be back to the record low levels we saw at the turn of the century. There are many things we could be doing to reduce our foreign oil’s stranglehold on our economy, but the most significant would be to get our gas hogs off the road and shift to alternative fuel vehicles.

So what’s my good idea? I think the government needs to put a man on the moon all over again. Except this time, instead of actually putting a man on the moon, the next president would establish a vision, timeline and investment program to creating new alternative fuels and vehicles. By brining together the best minds in science and industry and giving them significant financial resources for R&D, the government could actually be a catalyst for change, rather than an inhibitor as it has been for so long.

The outcoume wouldn’t be limited to a reduction in the demand for oil, or cleaner air and water, but an a whole “new” industry that itself could fuel the economy for years to come because other countries are just as eager to reduce their own demand for oil. If we hold the keys to the city, thanks to smart government investment, then the us just might be able to remain a player in the global economy later on this century.

Granted, the government is probably not the ideally suited to RUN this initiative because they’ll only screw it up. But the government needs to put the wheels in motion, open up channels of collaboration, set asside political bickering, and use our tax dollars for something that would ultimately help the entire country.

So what do you think?  Ridiculious or potential platform for Fall 08?