Fast Company has an interesting story in their April issue entitled “10 Ways To Jump-Start the Auto Business”.  The on-line version has been expanded to 25 ways, so I guess there are a lot of opinions out there for our auto industry.  This is a thought provoking article that highlights many of the current problems and offers some potential solutions.

Some of the issues they address include:

• Higher gas tax
• Car design
• Advertising
• Social networks
• Alternative fuels
• Monorail technology
• Hybrid vehicles
• Buy American
• Sell your car

All of these ideas to get the auto business moving again are well intentioned and very valid if you agree with the premise of the article.  My problem is that I think the last thing we need is more cars.  We already have plenty of cars, we just need to make more efficient use of the existing “fleet”.

So instead of trying to improve a broken system, I believe we should go in a new direction.  We have to explore a broad strategy to get people out of their cars.  Increased ride share, car share, mass transit, biking and walking are the future.

photo credit: vieux bandit

I saw this story on The Oil Drum last week and found it very disturbing.  The story is entitled “The 88,000,000,000 barrel debt”.  They use some very simple graphs to illustrate this powerful message.  I highly recommend clicking on this link so you can see the graphs.

The first graph shows how US Energy Production has been almost constant for the past 30 years.  The second graph illustrates how our Energy Consumption has grown over that same period of time.  In the third and final graph, they show the ever rising debt.

So while the US Oil Production has declined over the years, we have compensated by producing more coal and natural gas.  Even with these changes, we have still consumed well beyond our capacity.  After studying the numbers, I put together this chart:

Do you see a shocking pattern in these numbers?  While it took us 12 years to accumulate a debt of 22 billion barrels of oil in the 80’s, we are now averaging a debt of 5.5 billion barrels a year.  At this rate, we will hit 100 billion by the end of 2010.  So much for Energy Independence.

I think that this just further illustrates that increased production of alternative energy will only help so much.  The real answer lies in reduced consumption.  Passenger Energy is one tool that could help close this huge gap between production and consumption.

On Tuesday, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar announced that they are adding a longer period of public review to the Bush offshore drilling program.  In a wise decision, the government wants to take more time to do the proper analysis before expanding this type of exploration.  There is more detail in this story entitled “Drill Baby Drill? Not so Fast: Interior Dept. Scraps Bush Offshore Drilling Plan”.

By adding 5 months to the review process, are we just delaying the inevitable increase in offshore drilling or is this a true change in direction away from this risky proposition?  In this story entitled “The Future Of Offshore Oil”, Dan Shaply cites the many dangers ocean drilling.  Hurricanes over the last several years have ruptured oil platforms and pipelines causing hundreds of thousands of gallons to be released into the ocean.  This along with oil spills from tankers present a serious threat to our oceans.

When gas prices were soaring to record levels, most people thought that offshore domestic drilling was a necessary evil.  Now that oil prices are way down, this option looks even less attractive.

We all understand the grim ecological objections against this type of drilling, but what is the alternative?  Should we, in the words of T. Boone Pickens, continue with the “greatest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind” to foreign countries that hate us?  Given this ugly option, I would definitely consider offshore drilling.  If you do not like either option, then you must embrace more aggressive conservation efforts to reduce our insatiable appetite for crude oil.

You may have seen these facts before, but they are well worth repeating again and again until we do something about it:

• We have 4% of the world’s population
• We consume nearly 25% of the world’s oil
• We only produce about 10% here in the U.S.

If we are going to protect our oceans for future generations then we need to take action now to break our addiction.  Let’s follow the government’s lead and put the brakes on our gluttonous consumption of this dwindling resource.  So instead of “Drill Baby Drill”, we should “Conserve Baby Conserve”.  Not too catchy, let me know if you have a better one.

Even with all the benefits of Passenger Energy, it is still a tough sell to convince people to begin an organized program of paid ride sharing.  What other incentives could be offered?

The associations behind both wind and solar energy are making push for refundable tax credits.  These credits are like a rebate since any payments can then be applied towards taxes that are due.  They can actually reduce tax liability below zero, so the government would send out a check for any additional earned credits.

There is also an interesting story by Josie Garthwaite entitled “Why Refundable Tax Credits Are Important for Clean Power”.  This story makes a strong case for how refundable tax credits could boost production of renewable energy.  Additional reimbursements will help drive increased investing in clean solar and wind technology.

This is an interesting concept that I think could also be applied to Passenger Energy.  Instead of just focusing on new energy production, why not reward increased conservation?  We could track commuting habits to allow individuals to earn credits for either providing or accepting rides.

I think we are so focused on keeping up with our current excessive energy demands that we are missing a bigger opportunity to just reduce our consumption.  We should still aggressively pursue alternative energy sources, but we should also offer compensation for all who consume less.  Don’t you agree that it is better to attack a problem this large from both sides?

photo credit: Torley

I recently received an email from www.RepowerAmerica.org with the subject “Now What?”.  In the email they talk about the results of the presidential election and how “the American people are calling for  bold change“.  I agree, take a look at their video:

In the same email, they also quote Al Gore:

We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that’s got to change

I believe Passenger Energy could greatly aid this effort through increased conservation.  Hmm, ”increased conservation”, is that an oxymoron?  I’m not sure, but I would like to hear what you think?