Man, we're stupid.

I wasnt old enough to feel the real pain of the energy crisis of the early 70s, but I do remember sitting in our blue Dodge Dart with my father, waiting on line to get gas. It sucked for a 6-year-old, so I assume it pretty much sucked in general for the whole country.

Evidently, it seems that as a nation we're just not smart enough to have learned anything from that experience. 30 years later, and we've driven demand to the point that even the thought of a minor disruption in the flow of oil causes petroleum-based energy costs to skyrocket. What? There might be a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico next week? Quick, lets start charging 30% more for a barrel of oil!

There is no more important issue facing us right now than the cost of energy. Period. When energy costs more - everything costs more. Its simple math. Nobody would disagree with this, yet I can't find a single contractor on Long Island that advertises the design and installation of geothermal heating/cooling systems. Want to buy an electric car? No problem if you want to wait three months to get it and pay well over sticker price. Thinking of using the sun to power the applicances in your house? Great, but even with the rebates many utilities are offering on solar systems, the payback is often longer than 10 years!

Our national energy policy is such an abysmal failure that the average American really has no options for reducing his or her personal reliance on petroleum based energy sources. 30 years after odd/even days at the pump, you still can't buy an alternative fuel vehicle without jumping through hoops. I want to help - we all want to help, but our hands are tied. Something is seriously wrong here.

Someone smarter than me coined the phrase, "think globally, act locally". The solution to this problem does not lie with the President of the United States, nor does it lie in the Middle East or under hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlife refuge in Alaska. It lies with each of us. It is OUR responsibility to start acting locally to improve things, and that means taking a serious look at who we elect to our town councils and our county legislatures and our state assemblies.

Take 10 minutes to see what the candidates in your local elections say about energy policy. Support the candidates that are looking for local solutions to the problem. Can't find anyone? How about talking to your neighbors and putting together a plan to elect someone you know that has a good grasp of our energy problems? Ever thought about running for office yourself?

Today is election day, 2005. Its too late to influce today's elections, but with every LIPA bill I pay, my desire to make a difference grows. I can't possibly be alone, can I?