With gasoline at or near $4.00 per gallon, this is something that just about everyone has said before, but I just have to say it myself. If you were driving in the early 70’s (1973) you surely remember having to get up at 4:00AM to get in line at the gas station and wait hours for your turn to fill up. The cause was purely political; the U.S. (and others) aided Israel in the Yom Kippur War and for that OPEC decided to punish those nations that helped, an event called the Arab Oil Embargo. Rumors at the time pointed to an even greater problem--the world was running out of oil. People began to think about conservation. They bought smaller cars and solar panels, drove 55 mph (but not by choice!), turned down their thermostats, etc. We needed to be energy conscious because there was only so much oil left; we needed to conserve. Deep down in the minds of the average person there was this belief that “top people” were working on a fix. Oil was going to run out but surely our finest minds would come up with a new source of energy that would solve the problem and bring us into a new energy era. Cars that ran on water, solar power, nuclear power, and the like were thought to be on the horizon because “top people” were working on it. Every president, every senator, every congressman, you name it; everyone gave the impression that energy independence was a high priority.

As decades went by it became very clear that the “top people” theory was nothing but wishful thinking. In the three plus decades since the early 70’s little has been done and today we are in a situation that is far worse. Today the world’s economy is shaken by the enormous percentage of money that is being poured into the pockets of very few, and at lease some, very dangerous people. Developing countries have created a supply and demand situation that will only get worse. I place the fault for this on the U.S. government and private industry. Energy independence is not something that the individual can accomplish. We can only use what industry gives us, and at this time autos run on gasoline. We can conserve, but all the conservation in the world will not fix the problem, not at this stage in the game. The fix will require many people, a lot of money, and “top people” working toward the goal of finding another source of energy. It boggles the mind why private industry has not seen fit to work toward what could be a very lucrative invention. Whoever the next leader of this country is, if they wish to leave a legacy they will garner the collective will, wealth and wisdom of “top minds” and deal with this issue. It is a matter of ecology, economics and national defense. But I’m not holding my breath.

A couple of weeks ago President Bush said that there was “no quick fix” to the problem. I just wanted to scream. Okay, fine, if there’s “no quick fix” Mr. President then what is the “slow fix” and why has there been no progress on that front? “No quick fix” makes it sound like you just started thinking about the problem.

I should stick to theological issues.

Posted by Dwight at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am a blessed man. I have a wonderful and generous mother who has shown me faith in God and in myself. I also have a loving, patient, and encouraging wife who is an incredible mother to our three boys. Mother’s Day reminds me of these truths, though I see them in action every day. Thanks Mom and Sue for making me a blessed man, husband and father.

One more college year has come to an end. This year differs because it is the end of my first year teaching at Evangel University. People often ask newlyweds questions like “how’s married life?” In much the same I have had a lot of people ask, “How’s Springfield?” wanting to know how my first year at EU has gone. My answer? I don’t really know. It has been very different. I have been far less busy and almost invisible; which is drastically different than what I was used to. In some ways this has been good but in other ways not so good. In any case, neither will last forever. I have had a great deal of time to read and do research, and this was a primary reason for moving. The worst part is that we are still in boxes. For some reason we have not been able to find a home. That may sound odd considering the fact that it’s supposed to be a buyer’s market and we should be able to name our price in a gut of “for sale” homes. Not in Springfield. The housing market doesn’t greatly appreciate here, and the reverse is also true. It’s also the case that we do not want to have a school change for our boys, and thus we have had to limit our area of search. The weather here is also very different for us. I don’t mind the extremes that characterize Midwest weather, but I do not at all like tornadoes. Knowing that you are in tornado country is just part of life here. Many people I ask think little of it and some give no response to the sound of a tornado siren. This year has been very active, and although Springfield has for the most part dodged the bullet, there have been those tense afternoons and evenings when I stay glued to the radar. Saturday afternoon (5/10) was one of those times, today is supposed to be another. I don’t know if I will ever get used to it.

One last little situation: I don’t diet well, but I've found that if I run for an hour a day I generally keep my weight reasonable. I run in the evenings, usually after dark. Over the last few months I have had this situation with a few of the neighbor high school boys. Apparently they believe antagonizing runners is sort of a sport. Completely unprovoked they curve over to my side of the road and floor it as the go by, often yelling some comment or another. Their behavior has grown bolder lately and I am getting the impression that they may want to take things to another level. It is hard to know how to respond. Do you go to their parents, call the police, or just carry a canister of pepper spray? For the summer months I have decided to quit running after dark hoping their behavior will be different in broad daylight. Sometimes I think I am getting old; I just cannot remember a time in my life when I would have thought of such behavior as being funny.

Posted by Dwight at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)