By John Roberts, May 19, 2008

And we have Wall Street and the oil producing nations to thank for it.  Had they not created an artificial oil shortage, and jacked up the price of oil from $10 dollars a barrel in 1998 to $127 dollars in 2008, we would still be looking at a future controlled by energy companies and the fat-cat oil producing nations.

Today the world runs on oil.  And the nations that pump this black gold out of the ground are becoming wealthy beyond belief.  And they are reveling in this new found power.  A simple turn of the spigots to slow down the flow of oil is all it takes for Islam to bring nations in the West to their knees, transferring billions of dollars from your bank account into theirs.  I hope they enjoy it while it lasts because the energy monopoly is almost over. Oil is on the way out as our main source of fuel.

Dig into history and you will find that whale oil was once the commodity that fueled society, and the Dutch controlled the whaling industry.  Over time coal replaced whaling oil, which put the British Empire in the driver's seat.  And during the last century oil replaced coal as the primary source of energy, shifting power to the oil rich nations.

The United States and other western nations developed the oil fields in the Middle East and now the Arabs are using their oil like a weapon against us.   And power and gas companies are just passing the higher cost of fuel down to the consumer.  The whole situation is very frustrating, because there is little we can do about it right now.

Standing where we are today it might be hard to imagine the oil party ending anytime soon.  But believe me, change is coming.  And that is the thing about change, it takes a traumatic event to get things started, change gains momentum quickly, and before you know it the old ways are gone and replaced with something new.

Without a doubt the future will reveal a world powered by the sun.  And the shift from oil to solar power is proceeding at breakneck speed.  Look around, solar panels are popping up all over the globe.  They are covering carports, roofs of public buildings and private residences, and expanding across the landscape wherever there is a plentiful supply of the sun's rays.

The growth in the solar industry is expanding so rapidly that suppliers can not keep up with the demand.  The nation of France bought up the complete 2008 run of the new plastic solar panels from one source, making it almost impossible for the rest of us to get our hands on the latest technology.

But don't worry, manufactures in the solar industry are gearing up quickly, and by next year these new products should be back in supply.

This is all really good news.  Scientists all over the world are making fantastic breakthroughs in solar power technology.  Traditional solar panels are made of silicon, which is expensive, ridged, heavy, shatters like glass, and not easy to manufacture.  New panels have been developed that are made of organic materials and plastic, making them inexpensive and flexible.  They can be wrapped around structures, molded into any shape, or even sprayed like paint.

To be effective producers of energy a system must be able to convert about 10 percent of the energy in sunlight to electricity.  Conventional solar panels are about 12 percent energy efficient.  Even the best systems only achieve about 30 percent conversion of received solar energy.  Achieving the required conversion has been very challenging and a bit of a road block for solar power.

But progress is being made.  The new solar panes cost less than 25 percent of the old silicon based panels, and they are getting very close to the magic number of 10 percent conversion efficiency.  And when combined with other technology that magnifies sunlight an efficiency rating of nearly 40 percent is possible.

This shift away from non-renewable and polluting fossil fuel will not happen over night.  But five or ten years down the road I can see our need for oil being reduced by at least 50 percent.  People might scoff at this, but we will see.  People laughed at the personal computer, the Internet, cell phones and e-mail when they first came out.  Who's laughing now?

John's Take

What the world needs God has provided, a gift, free of charge.  The Sun is a literal symbol of Christ, it sustains life, without it we will die. The Sun baths our planet in light every day, just like Christ.  It provides us with warmth, gives life, and causes everything it touches to flourish, just like Christ.  And in the future it will power everything, like Christ. 

And that is something governments and big business do not want to see.  Why?  Because they can't tax or make money off of free sun light!  That is why it has taken so long to get the solar industry jump started.

Notice how we are being steered toward Ethanol and fusion technology?  How dumb is that?  With the world's population exploding why take a much needed food supply like corn and convert it to fuel?  And why generate more radioactive waist when there is no safe place to put it anymore.

Governments, big corporations, and Wall Street are pushing Ethanol and nuclear power over solar power because it is something they can control and tax, a commodity that must be bought and paid for by consumers.

But put in solar power and you are in control, self-sufficient, cleaning up the environment, and reducing your energy bills at the same time by selling power back to the grid.  When the next power outage hits there are no worries, because you still have power.  The utility company raises their price and still no worries because you won't need them anymore.

Add to this the fact that plug and drive electric cars are just around the corner and it is a great time to be alive.  You will be able to ride around all day, return the car to the garage, plug it in to your solar power system, and off you go the next day.  Fuel costs?  Zero!

Big Brother doesn't like that very much.  They don't want you to be independent.  They want you to buy their oil and gas and pay their fuel tax.  Too bad!  They can't tax sunlight.  Or then again maybe they can.

Stories Posted Prior To 2008

Many news stories posted over a year ago on lastdays.com are still relevant and readers may find them of some interest.  However, to improve the load time of the news section and thereby make the browsing experience more enjoyable some news stories have been moved to the archive. 

Just use the link provided below to access more Balance news stories.

GO TO HITECH NEWS ARCHIVE