How to Fix America's Energy Crisis

How french fries and nukes will bring power to the people.

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• Election 2008
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Our Addiction to Oil

Record-breaking temperatures, unprecedented natural disasters, corroded oil pipelines, brownouts, blackouts and gas prices that make your head spin. The energy crisis of this new century demands innovation, conservation and legislation that will keep the country running on more than fumes.

We can beat our addiction to oil without sacrificing our need for energy or harming the environment. And one of the side benefits of energy reform will be reducing the windfall to countries that may want to destroy our economy or worse.

The answers rest in new technologies, many of which come from the strangest places. Here are a few promising solutions that won't put cash into the pockets of foreign oil barons. If we're going to preserve our way of life, we have to get on board with a dynamic energy plan -- starting now.

Grassolean. It's a biofuel and can be made from the grease drained from deep fryers. Once in a car, it can even leave a french fry scent in its wake.

Geothermal energy. Advances are being made to use the heat from volcanoes, molten lava and geysers to power our world.

Nuclear power. Clean and economically feasible, spent nuclear power even retains 95 percent of its energy, which means that by recycling used fuel, we could cut waste while powering up.

As we look for new energy sources, we should keep the environment in mind. The alternatives should be clean. Luckily, the future looks very green.

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• View the complete America 2.0 poll results.
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As a benefits specialist in the Marines, I traveled around delivering lectures on life insurance. After listening to a dozen of these talks, the corporal who drove me from base to base insisted he knew my entire spiel by heart.

"Prove it," I said.

So at the next base the corporal delivered the speech. As he ended his flawless performance, a Marine asked, "What do I pay for insurance after I leave the Corps?"

My driver froze. Was the jig up? Would ignorance of the facts force him to crumble? Not my corporal!

"Marine," he said sternly, as he pointed to me, "that is such a dumb question that I am going to let my driver answer it."

-- E. M. Crossman

“ Music is the soundtrack of your life. ”

— Dick Clark

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