As the earths population rises, and it is rising, the question of feeding all those people has been pondered for a very long time. The answer has been to use more and more land for farms however that involves putting our forests at risk, water issues and continually using pesticides and fertilizers that are harmful to not only the environment but to people and animals as well. Then there is the problem of farm land continually being snatched up for urban expansion, and it is a problem.

We strip the forests, grow food for a while then build houses on the land. People would argue that there is plenty of land and will continue to make that argument until there isn't any left. It should painfully obvious to everyone at this point that the so called doom sayers are generally right and they say that yes, we will run out of land and food. There is also the question of conservation.

Introducing the high rise farm.

You build a tall building, 20 or 30 stories near or in large urban areas, in the cities. You use advanced hydroponics and grow vegetables and fruit and raise chickens and other farm animals. You utilize wind and solar energy generation, water recycling  and geo thermal systems for climate control. Methane from the animals can used as fuel and all the plant waist can be used to make bio fuel as well. These high rise farms can be almost completely stand alone without the need for any outside energy sources with the exception of less then 5% of the water that a conventional farm uses and much of that is recycled and can also be collected through rain water collection systems. Advanced hydroponics yield 15 times more crop per acre then a conventional farm and there is no need for heavy equipment, pesticides, fertilizers, runoff or long range OTR shipping since the building is in or near urban centers. Based on the carbon footprint of a conventional farm, these buildings have none in comparison. 

That frees up all that farm land to return to its natural way or it can be used to grow lets say switch grass for bio fuel. At least it solves the problem of food vs. energy or biodegradable materials grown.

Think of what these farms could do in places like Africa. Each 30 story building is projected to have the capacity to feed 50,000 people and feed them well. They can be built and operate virtually anywhere where there is sun and wind and access to a very small amount of water. With water desalination technology where it is today water is not an issue in this case.

Once again problem solved, just a matter of will to make it happen. There are several countries preparing to build full scale prototypes. I am looking into whether or not this country is preparing to do the same, if not we need to. We will be working on that. Want to help?

Some claim, such as the oil companies, that the huge price increase we saw over the summer and the recent drop in price of oil are due to the oil futures market.  When oil almost hit $150.00 a barrel it sparked much public discussion about alternative fuel sources. I am not a futures investment expert nor do I have a inside track on the oil companies but it seems strange to me that right when this discussion peaked the price of oil started to drop dramatically, and its not the first time in our history that this has happened. 

Exxon Mobile posted yet again record breaking quarterly profits this year and they claim the price is due to futures speculation? You cant tell me that the oil companies are not directly responsible for the fluctuation in the price of oil and gasoline. I support corporations desire to be profitable but again, there is a line of social responsibility especially during these troubled times and once again the oil companies have crossed that line.

Please, do not be fooled by this big drop in oil prices. I can assure you that the rapid increases we saw over last summer will repeat again and again until we as a country put a stop to it. I am not a huge supporter of federal regulation in the free market but in some cases it makes sense. The major drivers of our economy such as energy and credit should be regulated in a way that maintains the markets ability to be profitable but not in a way that puts us in the situation we find ourselves in today. 

In the immortal words of Gordon Gekko in the motion picture Wall Street...

"The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good."

I agree with what Mr. Gekko says as well as just about every CEO out there, but I agree that it works only in moderation. The major global financial crises we are muddling through is due to excessive greed and lack of oversight and regulation.

So as we make this transition from a oil based economy to a renewable clean energy economy we must take a hard look at fair, equitable and mutually beneficial regulations and federal oversight to benefit us all.

If you look at the long term big picture your view should change. If you live in Europe you are well versed in gas taxes. When gas in the US is $2.50 a gallon, it is over $5.00 a gallon in over there and its not a so much a difference in what they pay for a barrel of oil. The difference is gas taxes. Now I don't believe that those kind of excessive gas taxes are remotely necessary, I do however believe a small gas tax is very viable and necessary.

This country uses 400 million gallons of gas a day. That's over 1.4 trillion gallons a year. Say we had a .50 cent a gallon gas tax increase, that would create $700 billion in additional tax revenue. If we took half that money, $3.5 billion, and say put it into our infrastructure, roads, bridges and such think about the jobs that would create. If we took the other half and used it for improving our public transportation system, same result. Give the money to the states to be used for those purposes. Some of the money could be used to further our alternative energy infrastructure as well.

Nothing is free, everything cost money. If want to have the best roads, the best and safest and if we want to catch up with many other western countries in the public transportation arena its going to cost money, and that money has to come from somewhere. With all the other problems facing this country, we cant continue to borrow the money we need to fix those problems from other countries, we have to generate it here. It may hurt a little for a while, but if handled properly, only for a while. If we can make the transition from the traditional forms of energy to renewables and do it right then we can get away from the out of control fluctuations of energy prices and the extreme threat to our economy and national security it poses.

All new vehicles within the next two years must flex fuel, built to run on both regular gasoline (E15) and E-85 (85% Ethanol, 15%gas), mandatory. Every year the minimum fuel economy standards should go up by 2 to 5 percent. A percentage of every vehicle built should be either all electric or plug-in hybrid, say 40 percent within the next 5 years. Its not as if the technology doesn't exist. It is also imperative that the Government offer good tax incentives for businesses and and individuals to purchase these autos, preferable those built in the US by Americans. This would include foreign manufactures building cars here in the US.

If a foreign manufacturer that is not building cars in this country wants to take advantage of the incentives, then they need to build plants here, hire American workers and build cars here. We also would support a increased import tax on non US build automobiles.

When it comes to domestic car manufacturers and foreign car manufactures the line has become very fuzzy. GM, Ford and Chrysler build a large percentage of their cars in foreign countries. If you look at any price sticker on any domestic vehicles it will tell you the percentage breakdown of domestic manufacture vs. foreign. You will be hard pressed to find one listed at 100% US. The same goes for foreign manufactures, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Honda all have manufacturing plants here in the US, to name a few. These cars built here should be included in the incentives since these companies have created good jobs here in the US.

It is true when someone says that we don't owe the "Big Three" anything. They have been slow to react and seem to operate with a fear for change. That must change and now. The fact is that the Automobile Industry is a large part of our economy and should be supported, but in a way the beneficial for all. We must create new jobs and protect those existing jobs especially during this fragile economic time.

So, if you agree and even if you don't, speak your mind. E-mail, call or send a letter to your representative in Congress and make your voice heard.