The Cost of War
While politics is outside of the typical realm of this column, my morning reading did make me think today. Think, enough to want to post on this somewhat sensitive topic.
According to a US newspaper the cost of the war will be between 60 and 100 billion dollars, depending on it's length. In addition to this, the cost of rebuilding Iraq after the war will be 20 billion dollars per year.
I will not comment on the war, in terms of right or wrong. I will however, comment that with a bit of intelligent thought, this money could have a greater impact.
Clearly the need for oil is great in our country. Petroleum is literally the life blood of our economy. We move goods and services in cars and trucks. If oil supplies were immediately cut off, the country would come to a grinding halt.
In light of this, it seems that the key weakness of the country is lack of alternative options for the supply of energy. If, an energy could be discovered that would move the goods and services around the world in the place of oil, would it not solve the biggest reason for this war?
Couple this conclusion with the information from the latest issue of Wired magazine. It includes a plan for how to shift to new sources of power, including hydrogen.
The projected cost? 100 billion dollars, the modern equivalent of what Kennedy pledged to put a man on the moon.
In addition to the decreased dependence on oil, this would provide a significant boost to research and technology in the country. Looking to the future, this will be much more important in maintaining our world leadership position, than having political influence in the Middle East.
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