OT: Gas Prices

[jeffel]

Some of this is re-tread, but still, I thought it worth mentioning.

1. The Oil companys are ripping us off.
2. Gas should be more expensive.
3. We need to stop burning things to provide energy.

I am sure that I need to clarify #2

I think that gas taxes need to be higher and that the additional proceeds be used to shore up our transportation infrastructure and to provide research into alternative energies.

This approach has two main advantages.
1. Roads and other Transportation Infrastructure can be used to support even alternative energy cars.
2. At the same time we ramp down the use of fossil fuels, we would be encouraging the development of their replacements.

Recently there has been a lot of push in the media for bio-diesel and other fuels made from crops. While these fuels are an improvement over dependence on fossil oil, it still has some major drawbacks, most notably that they still release poisonous gasses into the atmosphere.

While bio-fuel is a good interim step, it does not (IMO) represent a long term solution.

Personally, I think that the hydrogen fuel cell is the future of portable energy and that a combination of solar, wind, hydro, nuclear and tidal energy is the ideal way to provide the raw energy for "refueling" those cells.