The price of oil is declining, U.S. exports are slowly rising, once vacant houses are starting to sell, and the value of the dollar is beginning to rise.  This is good news for Americans, but does it mean our economy is on the mend?  Not necessarily, the good news we read in the headlines today are due in large part to slowing economies in other parts of the world.  China’s exports, while still strong, are beginning to show weakness due in part to Western Europe.  England is facing a housing market collapse that could be far greater than what we in the U.S. have experienced.  Most European countries are experiencing an economic slowdown and London is forecasting a recession that could be the worst economic downturn in decades.  Even Russia’s robust economy is showing signs of weakness.  While Americans are realizing some much needed relief at the gas pump, it is not a time to return to our apathetic mindset.  Rather, this is a temporary mild relief that provides us an opportunity.  Our dollar is experiencing some relative strength, which combined with excess gasoline inventories, is lowering fuel prices, which is giving us an opportunity to proceed with expanded domestic drilling plans and alternative energy technology development.  When gasoline was $4 per gallon and analysts were forecasting it even higher, consumers across the nation were asking why we as a nation were not utilizing all of our domestic resources.  Now is the time to build the infrastructure needed to utilize these resources later, rather than wait until oil prices elevate again.  As I have stated in the past, it is my judgment that becoming more energy independent is an issue of national security as well as one of economics.  As long as we rely on nations that are unfriendly toward the U.S., our economy, our foreign policy, and our freedoms will be dictated to us by foreign nations.  This is clearly not the American way and not what has made our country great.  In order to become energy independent it is imperative that we continue to push for more offshore drilling, the use of oil shale, the conversion of coal to liquid fuel, and construction of new nuclear power plants.  In my judgment we need continued research of wind and solar power technologies and most importantly battery technology.  Until we develop the technology to efficiently store electric energy, solar and wind power will never be efficient, reliable sources of energy.

            As gasoline prices and the accompanying inflation rates decline, if we allow ourselves to once again become complacent about our energy future, we will look back at this time and ask why we allowed our nation and way of life to be compromised when we had the opportunity to prepare.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2008 at 1:02 pm and is filed under Ohio's Economy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.