I believe the fastest way that we can fix our economy, and dare I say "fix the world", is to reduce our dependance on foreign oil. America's addiction to this stuff drives the price and fuels the engines of terrorism!
The solution is simple, and for some of you it is right outside your door.
We have an abundance of natural gas here in the U.S. And the infrastructure is already in place and growing.
Many already use it to heat our homes and cook with, and now there are vehicles being produced that can use natural gas for fuel.
Here is a map of current refueling stations for CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) There are also links on the site to learn more about it.
The direct transference of dollars from OPEC oil to American natural gas will do a few things:
Create Jobs and reduce the unemployment rate
Reduce the price of oil by decreasing the demand
Significantly reduce the amount of money flowing into the hands of terrorist organizations funded by the overly wealthy OPEC nations.
Reduce energy costs for consumers and business alike, which will in turn create more jobs in other sectors.
Many cars that have "flex fuel" technology can easily be retrofit to run CNG and there are a few production models available already. The Honda Civic GX, and the MV-1 which is an American made vehicle specifically built for handicapped individuals.
I plan to buy a new (or new to me) car within the next 3 to 5 years. I am sure by then there will be refueling stations in my area for CNG.
I hope Ford builds a production CNG fueled vehicle by then....I would prefer to buy from them, but honestly buying an American built Honda makes me feel a lot more warm and fuzzy than buying a Chinese built ipad!
This was the first link I found talking about this. I don't know much about it, just wanted to share.