I find it fascinating that so many letters to the editors in the local daily papers reflect upset at the power outage caused by the earthquake. It is a reflection of just how spoiled and dependent upon modern conveniences we have all become in today’s society. The expectation is that all these things will be effortlessly provided at all hours of the day and night.

We were without power for thirteen and one half hours. I read a book until it got too dark to read. I was concerned that the earthquake had actually damaged some generators and it would take days before power was restored. Sitting there wondering how long it was going to be before the power came on we could finally see lights up on the hills so we knew they were working on it. The hills went dark a couple of times before the lights actually began to come on in Waikiki where we live.

It was something akin to a party type experience. Every time another block was turned on and a group of buildings would power up everyone would cheer. It was reminiscent of a New Year’s Eve type atmosphere. The whole process took about an hour and a half and each time a new block was lit everyone would cheer again.

This experience got me to thinking though. This was a one time rare occurrence. But what is going to happen when we start permanently restricting everyone’s energy usage because of “global warming?” What happens when power is no longer an easy to come by prevalent commodity but is rationed to reduce your “carbon footprint” on the planet? Who is going to be writing letters to the editors then complaining about 3 and 4 hour black-outs each day? Don’t tell me it can’t happen. We are quickly moving in that direction.

Rail projects are touted as a “green” alternative to automobiles but the truth is, it turns out, that per passenger mile rail pollutes more than automobiles. When you add up all the people it moves during commutes and then all the trips it makes the rest of the day mostly empty, there is no environmental savings. Factor in the pollution created transporting building materials to the construction site and building the line it is literally decades before rail begins to break even environmentally, if at all.

Most rail also depends upon electricity to power its motors. Where is that power going to come from? Most advocates here would say we could build power plants that utilize ethanol. But there is a problem there as well. It takes 4 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of ethanol. Processing 40 million gallons of ethanol would require 160 million gallons of water. Where are we going to get all that water?

This is proving a problem in the “Land of Thousand Lakes” Minnesota, where ethanol plants are already drawing down aquifers dangerously low. If ethanol were such a viable, vibrant option then it wouldn’t require millions of dollars in federal and state subsidies and tax breaks to make it work. The ones who really benefit are the recipients of all this corporate welfare.

Our recent experience with an earthquake induced blackout is a wake up call but not in the way the most people think. It is an example of what we will face if we don’t expand electrical capacity and soon. Energy demands are not going to decline no matter what the politicians and environmentalists want and if you don’t want to spend large portions of your day in the dark then we all need to focus on what our energy options are. Petroleum is going to be the major portion of that mix for a long time.

Don Newman, senior policy analyst for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii can be reached at: mailto:don@grassrootinstitute.org