by Jeff Burke

Created on: May 25, 2008

No other single threat has ever endangered the economic future of the entire world more than the current high price of gasoline. Children will go to bed hungry tonight because of this crisis. Families will die of starvation, governments will fail, and the fragile stability of the international community will ultimately crumble if something decisive is not done immediately. Industry experts say that the possibility of losing several airlines in the very near future is a very real threat.

As a political conservative, I cringe at the idea of government intervention. The main function of the government is to protect it's citizens. This topic is so big and so far reaching that if something is not done soon, history will condemn our passivity. What good is a free market if everyone is starving, without jobs, and without transportation?

Desperate people who have clean records are now resorting to crime. In my own neighborhood, the community security volunteers are being limited in how much gasoline they can use for their patrol cars. Crime is on the rise and crime prevention is being pared back.

Are we helpless? Can anything be done? I have some suggestions:

First of all, the President of the United States should declare an a national emergency and use the power of his office to its fullest extent.

Secondly, a national task force must be put in place to implement the measures that are necessary to bring down oil prices.

Thirdly, we need to speed up the development of alternative energy sources. This will require throwing a lot of money at it and stop giving away bushels of money overseas. We must go full speed ahead to multiply wind farms, hydro-electric, solar, hydrogen technology and other forms of clean energy. Perhaps we'll produce enough energy to recharge everyone's electric cars.

Fourth, all offshore drilling that is forbidden by state and national legislation should be canceled and overturned in the interest of National Security.

Fifth, forget the baby seals and give priority to the human creatures by opening up environmentally sensitive lands to oil exploration and drilling. What good are baby seals if we revert back to the stone age and eat all the seals?

Sixth, give huge tax incentives for the building oil refineries.

Seventh, relax national and state standards on gasoline formulations, making oil refinement cheaper. We presently have dozens of types of gasoline making refinement more expensive. Reduce the types of fuel to three: regular, high octane, and diesel. Stop using corn or any other edible food for fuel.

Liberals in Congress are proposing the socialization of oil companies. Even conservatives are proposing some form of government control. Something big has to be done immediately or the very structure of civilization as we know it will begin crumbling. If we let this go too far, the damage could take decades to repair and what's more is that millions of innocent people could die.

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