Hey Barack €“ Where You Goin’ with That Drill in Your Hand?

by Marketing

Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 06:54 AM EDT

Politifact, the fact-checking project of the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times, gives Obama a "No Flip" on the Flip-O-Meter in his announcement to expand offshore drilling in previously banned places. Politifact reports that Obama is keeping a campaign promise: He did a "Half Flip" in the middle of his campaign when gas prices had skyrocketed and then agreed that more drilling off the coasts would be necessary, so "No Flip" now.

If car and truck buyers' had a little more money and drivers were willing to give up on old technology, then the U.S. could begin the switch immediately to petrol-free and nearly-petrol-free vehicles, making new drilling unnecessary. Biofuels already have a niche vehicle energizing marketplace with more opportunities growing with cellulosic ethanol, fuels from algae and others.

Hydrogen is another possibility, but has its own set of cost issues as well as a complete set of supply and distribution challenges.

Though from a technical standpoint, electrically driven vehicles, including hybrids, are here now and here to stay. At this point automakers and suppliers seem to have more interest in electric drive than in any other alternative technology. It's not just the simple technology they like: zero emission vehicles will go a long way in helping automakers meet the 34 mpg average vehicle fuel economy standard by 2016.

Once the battery hurdle is officially leaped -- it will be only a matter of time before the entire industry quits their gas guzzling -- it just makes too much sense.

This article originally appeared on Natural Health & Organic Living Blog : NaturalBuy.com.