tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013768528807903362.post627275885623472875..comments2023-05-04T08:38:45.160-07:00Comments on Gridlock: Can Our System Address America’s Big Problems?: America's Energy Future: Plan to Waitkarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11242198015369699322noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013768528807903362.post-88589174502133948932012-04-25T13:13:41.496-07:002012-04-25T13:13:41.496-07:00I agree that this will likely remain gridlocked un...I agree that this will likely remain gridlocked until it is addressed by the private sector. The current focus of the country is on the economy. Creating new programs to fund additional energy research as the Democrats want is not a key issue to the average voter. Similarly, the Democrats seem unlikely to move away from their environmental position to compromise with the Republicans. These facts alone seem to point to stalemate, but with the projection of energy independence by 2020 the issue really seems to lose its urgency. The free market and technological innovations seem to be leading the country naturally down a path toward renewable and clean energy generation, but for now it is more profitable to use proven fossil fuel technology. While additional funding towards alternative energy in the past could have been politically viable and would have certainly allowed our country to be energy independent much faster (and when the economy is back on track, serious investments in research and infrastructure should be made), it is not the right time any more to implement it.Kyle Glackinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14724449778790067495noreply@blogger.com