My letter to my 2 Red State Senators re: Energy

[johnaries]

I'm in TN. It could be a very purple state, and for the life of me I don't know why it's so Red this year (I won't play the Race Card, but after the Harold Ford race it's very hard not to..... Hey, and I'm a White Guy!)

Any way, here is the letter I just sent to Alexander (who pretends to be "Green" while doing everything he can to the contrary) and Corker (The former Chattanooga Mayor who took credit for all the changes his Dem predecessor put in place....) :

I have been watching the rising oil prices carefully for some time now. I am now convinced - as you should be if you have been following the trends and Congressional testimonies - that a substantial amount of the increased crude prices is the direct result of unregulated and uncontrolled speculation.; including offshore speculation (US investors who purchase offshore, and also investors who are “hiding” purchased oil reserves offshore).

As one of your constituents and on the behalf of all your constituents, I must insist that you work for total transparency of all oil futures transactions and proper regulation of same.

As soon as this transparency is implemented, the speculators will begin to “dump” their investments, which may result in a temporary “glut” which will drive prices down dramatically in a very short time. This will be a major accomplishment for you if you take action now.

Of course, prices will eventually balance. However, by that time we can implement new practices and new technologies for alternative renewable energies that will no longer be dependent on oil.

I have faith in America. Renewable energy is the future. America can lead the way, making America the Energy Leader for the next century. Unless we allow the Japanese to beat us to it; in which case it’s our own fault, because we failed to act and take advantage when we had the opportunity.

So, do we Lead The Way? Or do we allow other countries to pave the way to the future while we sit idly by? The same way Europe did while America embraced new technologies in the past. Are we the Europe of Old? Or will we find a new, better way?

We are at a turning point. If we adhere to the “old ways” we will die. If we embrace the innovative - as America is famous for doing - that is the only way we can survive!

We cannot “drill” ourselves out of this problem. For the future of our Country, I beseech you to close the speculation loopholes as a short-term solution, and invest in renewable energy sources as both mid-term and long-term solutions. We need multiple solutions: short-term, mid-term, And long-term. Increased drilling will take a long time to effect, and we could easily have better options in place by the time increased drilling shows any results. It simply makes no sense to invest more in a failing technology that will probably be obsolete by the time it shows any actual results.

For now, I insist on the short-term solution of eliminating inflated prices caused by reckless speculation - as a constituent and on behalf of other Tennessee constituents.