It is a regrettable fact: our government has failed to act in finding a viable solution to the impending energy crisis. Yes, our generation will face a full-blown energy crisis. The harbingers of doom have begun to emerge. Oil is currently trading at $67 a barrel. Not surprisingly, by the end of 2005, our trade deficit was in excess of $60 billion. And yes, our government has failed to act. Last summer, given an opportunity to revolutionize energy research and distribution, our Congress stumbled its way through the passage of an uncreative, anachronistic and misguided Energy Bill.
Unfortunately, this is all too expected when lawmakers are simply the richly-dressed puppets of interest groups and corporations which have no desire to change the status quo and avert future disaster. The myopia of our senators and representatives is blindness and paralysis. As long as the ExxonMobils of the world continue to prosper and search for new ways to exploit our dependencies, we have little hope for government intervention.
However, criticism can only go so far. It's a waste of time and energy to harp on past legislative follies and big business evils. So, if the halls of Congress have failed, where better a place to search for this solution than the halls of our nation's universities?
It is now the responsibility of America's universities -- administrations, professors, researchers and students -- to discover, perfect and implement alternative fuel sources and more efficient fuel delivery systems.
Research institutions throughout the country should not be waiting for government subsidies and grants that may never come. They should willingly and independently begin the research. This may be nave, but the only way to exit the self- perpetuating circle of inaction is to stop waiting.
With elite schools such as Dartmouth sitting on billions of dollars in endowment funds and pushing fund-raising campaigns to raise billions more, the university system is wasting valuable time by hoarding the much-needed capital to begin seeking a solution. We must tap the resources of brain power, facilities and finances. Centers for the Discovery of Alternative Fuel Sources should be built on campuses. Endowed professorships, research scholarships and political and scientific student organizations relating to the discovery of alternative energy should be created. In addition to academic powerhouses, universities are nstrumental in social habit-forming and trend-setting. The definitive characteristics of modern generations often first manifest themselves on college campuses. With the ability partially to shape the habits and attitudes of the future of this country, college administrations should go out of their way to promote energy consciousness, conservation and innovation. The dire need for a solution to our petrol addiction should be made clear, not ignored.
Additionally, by taking the initiative in finding a solution, America's universities can be in a position to work with those corporations that have such powerful lobbying capabilities in maintaining the status quo.
The American automotive industry, notorious for stimulating our thirst for gas, is in desperate need of innovation. Ford made it clear this week that the future of the company depends on creating "eco-friendly" cars. Already with plans to create more hybrid (gas and electric powered) vehicles, companies such as Ford will need the brain power to find more cost effective ways to become "eco-friendly." There is a demand for more graduates with comprehensive backgrounds in alternative energy sources and delivery methods. Our universities could even supplement the much-needed research and development for new ways to power cars, factories and lives in a ways beneficial for both the university and the company. Research institutions can be compensated while the companies gain access to new technologies.
For centuries the university system has prided itself on being a beacon of knowledge, hope and progress, an ultimate barrier against ignorance and malaise. By failing to grasp the magnitude of our future energy woes, this system of learning will fail to uphold its responsibility and guarantee our future.
To combat this, institutions of higher learning must foster an innovative spirit to carry us out of our addictions. The New York Times op-ed columnist Thomas L. Friedman concluded his Wednesday column with "not much grows in a garden watered by oil." I say: seeds of knowledge and progress must be planted. And only when watered by our time and intellectual energy much can and will grow.
