The Fein Line

The oil spill tragedy in the Gulf is a disaster.  One reaction to the long-term problem is to reduce our dependency on oil so we have less need for risky drilling.  This isn't a new idea, as Jon Stewart pointed out last night.  Unfortunately, despite the urgings of the last eight Presidents, not much has happened.  I think that we need a 'man on the moon' type of commitment to this, encompassing boosting research in a range of alternative fuel options, encouraging investment in energy efficiency, and changing economic incentives so that each energy source bears its full cost, including environmental impact from spills, byproducts, mining, etc. 

And, as the Moment of Zen shows, ideas that used to be conservative can become radical leftist.  Maybe with some strong leadership from President Obama we can overcome our partisan differences to deal with this problem before 8 more presidents go by.