SENTINEL WATCH March 13, 2006 Issue

A SWEET ANSWER FOR OIL ADDICTION?

CHANNING WALKER

THE BLUNT ACKNOWLEDGMENT by President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address, "America is addicted to oil," grabbed headlines and signaled a moment of opportunity. If a former Texas oilman talks about oil addiction, could solutions, even unheralded ones, be at our doorstep?

Fossil fuel consumption has been growing for years, and has yet to be fully addressed. But experts trumpet a host of creative approaches that are available today. It's not as if we're waiting for technology to catch up with our hopes. Good answers, lots of them, are already in use, already making a positive difference. Just not a big enough one, yet. For that, we'll need a higher perspective. We'll need a fuller embrace of the spiritual ideas that evolve new approaches.

Consider just one of those new approaches. Look to Brazil. They've charted a course to energy independence. How? By powering their cars with ethanol. Better yet, they're not using ethanol made from corn, which is not the most effective option for Brazil. They're making it much more efficiently from sugar. Brazil abounds with sugar cane. And they're planting more all the time. No one suggests this is The Big Answer to the world's looming oil crisis. But it could be one of many good answers that will play a role in the coming years. Nearly everyone agrees that a multi-pronged approach will be the most effective.