Archive for May, 2011

A Letter to the Editor

Posted on 05/24/2011. Filed under: Uncategorized |

A recent letter to the editor I wrote has been published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The subject matter of the letter does relate to things that happen in the PushBack story twenty years from now, which would seem to imply that not much will change in the next two decades. Predicting the future is tricky and I did not attempt to predict the technology or social changes that would occur during that time span in PushBack. Historically, technology has changed faster than predicted and social changes have lagged predictions. So while the PushBack story hinted at some technological changes, it did not dwell on them. The PushBack story assumed that people would be acting and reacting pretty much as they would in today’s world up to the point that dramatic and historically significant changes suddenly occur. However, that is another story and it is called PushBack.

The letter had been written as a response to an article Minnesota U.S. Rep. John Kline had published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The letter read as follows:

U.S. REP. JOHN KLINE

His solution to energy problem makes it worse

John Kline proposes a simplistic drill baby, drill solution to the problem of energy instability (“Dedicated Minnesotans deserve energy stability,” May 11). John Kline is an intelligent individual and is likely more aware than most that the oil produced within borders of the United States has little to do with the price of gas at the pump. Oil is a global commodity and global supply and demand determines the price. No matter how aggressively oil companies drill, tear or rip up that part of the Earth claimed by the United States, it will not produce enough oil to significantly alter global supply and will not stabilize gas prices in the United States. The only way the United States can control its energy future is by developing alternative sustainable energy sources. This is where the country needs to direct its resources in order to achieve the stability that John Kline claims we deserve.