Energy Reality
I own a small supermarket, and though I'm no energy-policy expert, I'm certainly affected by the decisions our leaders make.
If you're in the food business, you know the 'temperature chain' that makes modern food distribution work. Imagine feeding New York City without the constant stream of diesel refrigerated trucks and trains. Every part of that system — the trucks that bring seed, make and spread fertilizer, power the tractors, cool the crops in the field, move them to my store below the spoilage point — is completely dependent on oil.
Our food system floats on a pool of oil. Renewables, then only about 2% of our energy, will not power that system any time soon. Energy and the efficiencies it allows are the lever of our wealth; without cheap, available energy we slide toward a third-world economy.
