Energy policy: why it seems like deja-goddam-vu all over again

Thirty years ago, I entered the business world as a managing partner in a solar energy business. We beat the odds and prospered for nearly ten years until energy prices went down and tax credits flickered out. We moved on.

Our reliance on foreign oil is once again pushing us into an uncertain future. But this time, there's a new kid on the block: the Chinese economy is now the second largest consumer of oil in the world. And their appetite for crude doesn't look like it's going down any time in the near future.

Unless you believe that the world supply of oil is infinite (I don't), unless you believe that the Saudi production capacity has room for growth (I don't), unless you believe that the Russian production capacity will bail us out (I don't, not with China AND India out there), unless you believe that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will yield a significant amount of oil (I don't), unless you buy all of that (and I don't), then the only way out is to make an Apollo-moon-landing type commitment to energy independence NOW.

I know, I know, it will take decades and hundreds of billions of dollars. But you know what? Back in 1975 the naysayers were saying the same thing -- but had we done it then, we'd be home free by now.

It's deja-goddam-vu all over again -- you think we'll get it right this time?

P.S. Newsweek has an interview with Charlie Baker, Honda's Chief Engineer in the US:

Toyota talks about every car being a hybrid someday. What do you think is going to be on our highways in 10 and 20 years?

We would love to make 100 percent hybrids. Obviously, there are huge challenges, but it would be a perfect embodiment of the Honda philosophy. In the longer term, you want to move to a carbon-free type of mobility. So we are determined to lead in fuel cells.

But developing an affordable electric-fuel-cell car seems ever elusive. Will we ever get there or are we trying to crack the wrong nut?

We've got fuel cells on the road right now. At Honda that's the equivalent of the moon shot. We absolutely pick that as a challenge. Can we guarantee there will be 32 percent of Hondas that will have fuel cells by 2013? No. But there is a huge commitment to fuel cells.

And where the hell are GM and Ford? I'll tell you where -- still trying to figure out why their stock is now rated "junk," i.e., nowhere.

(HT to Bill in Portland Maine)