SENTINEL WATCH September 11, 2006 Issue

IDEAS FUEL SOLUTIONS

DAVID STEVENS

Rising oil prices, corroded pipelines, projected shortfalls, and the growing concern over global warming all have people seeking answers more than ever. Some people seek to blame, and others fixate on predictions of doom. More research may certainly be justified. But the real need is to find practical solutions.

I remember the first Earth Day, in 1970, when Ralph Nader was the featured speaker at my college. We discussed and debated limited global oil supply, pollution from automobiles and industry, and the need for conservation. Predictions were dire, but no one doubted that we could do something to make things right. Since then, good ideas from recycling, to conservation and better land management, to cleaner and more efficient technologies have brought significant improvement in environmental quality to many regions. And today, rather than wondering whose fault it is or how bad it can get, we would do well to ask ourselves: "What is the very best we can do? How can we find and develop solutions?"

I once read a newspaper article from the 1890s that, as I recall, predicted New York City would face an uncontrollable problem with horse manure by the 1920s. Of course that never came about. It didn't because of what could be called our greatest renewable resource—fresh ideas to meet the demands of the day. The most significant advancement at that time was the internal combustion engine, now seen by many as the culprit and cause of today's environmental concerns.

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