Travel

There is simply no substitute for travel, even limited travel, to better understand the world and global issues. For instance, today we drove through northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Driving long distances over nearly empty land made me realize yet again the huge need for affordable energy for people in rural areas. They need to heat and light their homes far away from urban grids, and they especially need fuel to run their heavy trucks, tractors, and other machinery. It's not a solution to just say that they can all move to more urban areas because many of our country's major products come from rural areas. Even in the case of national parks, someone needs to be there to actually care for the land and handle tourism needs.

So, how do we get cheap energy? Oil is still fairly cheap now, but google "peak oil" if you want something new to worry about. "Green" forms of energy have yet to become really affordable. Where's my "Mr. Fusion"?