Once again. Astute observation. But, I guess the question is "Will the redefining of energy, defocusing on the middle east and its oil along with the evoking of a sense of solidarity as a people SELL?" I guess we need an "agent" or "spin doctor" for this.

Well I'm no Carl Rove (thank god) but;

For the Fiscal Conservatives...

"Sending a Trillion to the Middle East and other places like Nigeria and Venezuela is not in our best interest

For the Tree Huggers...

"Getting away from petroleum will drop the Earth's tempature by "x"

For the Bible Thumpers...

"We can reduce the threat of Armaggedon by disengaging in the Middle East"

For the UAW...

"An investment in a new fuel source can also fuel a rebuilding of our own auto industry"

For the VC folks...

"A Federal Govt focus on spurring a race to alternatives opens many opportunities for savvy investors"

For the Corn Belt...

"Ethanol can save America and raise corn prices,...well at least it can be a transitional strategy."

For the Pacifists...

"China and India will need more oil than we import in just ten years,...we can avoid a global war for oil if we act now"

That's a start

Wcbiv:

First we need to get the attention of the "movie/sports star" loving population. Then we need to "convince" the media that it would "help" to provoke thought rather than just "ratings". Last, we need to get the public's attention to what is happening to their economy, future and freedom!

How do you propose we get away from our oil problem?

Baring some breakthrough on the automotive scale of Relativity, we're at least 20 years from a truly viable alternative.

Big oil and the manufacturers have sunk huge amounts of money into the research.

The American auto makers have been churning out E85 (Capable of running on a gas/85% ethanol) vehicles for almost 10 years. (Partial list thru 2005)

Hybrids don't sell well because they simply are not up to snuff for most American drivers. That's despite improvements in recent years and huge tax breaks. Despite what some believe, they are not significantly more ecofriendly than traditional vehicles. Not only do they not get better mileage than some diesel vehicles but they have their own problems with battery creation and disposal,

Hydrogen has its own set of problems. Not the least of them being it takes more energy to create hydrogen that you get back from the fuel.

Unless you want a nuke plant in your back yard and have the solution to waste products, coal is actually the current most likely alternative fuel.

Towards that end, you might want to look up the 1.5 Billion dollar FutureGen project. One of the byproducts will be hydrogen. Won't make up for using more energy to produce than it returns but because the hydrogen is a byproduct, it should be affordable.

Oh, and while farmers are getting more for their convertible-to-ethanol crops, we're already paying more at the butcher shop for beef and other grain fed critters. Third world countries are complaining price increases fro grains are making it harder if not impossible to continue feeding their poor.

Voters may want to believe in some alternative but it's not here yet. Not because of some conspiracy but because the technology simply has not been discovered - despite huge expenditures by governments, auto manufacturers, and energy companies.

Fromz:

I agree with your points. But, it "appears" there is a "lack of interest" in developing any new source of fuel that is NOT inefficient and cumbersome. Where there is a "will" there is a way. But, not as long as the folks who have a "vested interest" in the existing power sources are making a bundle. Its not about conspiracy. Its about human nature. And an example is methane: it is a renewable resource. We crap it out every day :-). The flame you sometimes see above landfills is the methane burning off. Animals make it in their dung! Theres LOTS of it.

Fromz; I reject your premise that we are 20 years out. We are 20 years out because the public hasnt fully recognized the peril of our path aided by the delusion of dependence promoted by those who are "vested" in the current technologies.

Conspiracy?...No!

Just basic selfish interest taken to it's inane conclusion.

Asking Big OIl to come up with answer and (paying them in tax breaks to do so) is akin to the fox watching the hen house...you can count on feeding on chicken/oil every night

As for nuke power in my backyard....the San Onofre Plant is about 12 miles from my house...I'm cool with that. Speaking of cool; whatever happened to Cold Fusion?

Well if you guys are interested in seeing what the major energy companies really think of the long range outlook on global energy needs, managing greenhouse gas emissions and alternative fuels development it's published on the net. The majors pretty much have similar views and all have various programs actively researching and, in some cases, developing alternatives. They would also be involved in any large scale CO2 sequestration efforts because the technology is already in place and in use in some parts of the world (CO2 recovery and reinjection is used to maintain reservoir pressure in some fields).

I know it's easiest to blame the 'evil empire' for providing us with the energy we so eagerly demand but it won't do much good. A concerted conservation effort would be by far the best thing we could possibly do but I see how fast everyone is running to sell their Hummers as we speak. Given the realities of projected energy consumption (especially in China and India) and available fuels that can actually/realistically meet those needs, we would be far better off well first conserving but then lobbying our representatives to support development of alternatives that make more sense than diverting food/feedstock to inefficient fuel. Hydrogen as a fuel isn't as efficient as gasoline but there is current research that looks promising for greatly improving that efficiency and at least it won't deplete critical food and water supplies.

if you're interested here's the link to ExxonMobil's energy outlook through 2030. I gave you that one because I work for them and know that the projects and research mentioned in the report are valid. I've been involved in a few and have friends working with others.

http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/Files/Corporate/tomorrows_energy.pdf