Every time I drive by Kum & Go these days, I get a little nauseated. Nope, it’s not because of the 15 times I stopped there two weeks ago to get some Red Bull to finish my senior paper, or because public restrooms freak me out. I don’t even have to go in to feel like I’m going to puke. What would cause such a severe reaction, you may ask?

Well, it’s a two-word answer: gas prices. Seriously. $3.47 a gallon. If that doesn’t make even the toughest stomach turn a little, then I don’t know what does. Within a few weeks (or days?) we’ll be at $3.50, and I’ve heard reports that we’re supposed to be at $4.00 by the end of the summer. That seriously makes me want to puke. And cry.

I realize this would be a rather appropriate time for me to begin my rant on why public transportation systems are incredibly efficient and worth their investment, but I’ll spare you that. Instead, I am going to try to be a little more realistic.

I never thought I’d go this far, but alas, desperate times call for desperate measures. I’m going to think like an American politician. (Please don’t stop reading now! I swear on my Civil Rights and Liberties book that there is a point to this!)

This past week, presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and John McCain both openly backed a plan regarding the rising gas prices in this country. Though it blew my mind that Clinton and McCain were actually able to agree on something other than marital problems, I was seriously caught off-guard when I heard both are pushing for a “gas-tax holiday,” removing the federal excise tax on gasoline for this summer. Presuming that most Americans would take advantage of this deal and travel more, putting more money into the economy and perhaps even more faith in their respective presidential-nominee hopeful, both Clinton and McCain have been said to take big steps in a national energy policy.

The thing is, it’s a wrong step in the wrong direction. Insert foot in mouth here.
The so-called holiday rests on the premise that America will just borrow some more money from China. Not a big deal. Our debt is already so huge, who would notice the difference? Wrong again.

According to Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times columnist and author of the book “The World is Flat,” “When the summer is over, we will have increased our debt to China, increased our transfer of wealth to Saudi Arabia and increased our contribution to global warming for our kids to inherit.” Great. We’ll speed to the pool this summer only to someday soon be in such great national debt that no one can even afford a bathing suit anymore because it’s so expensive.

So, instead of taking the inevitable plunge (no pun intended) toward a nudist colony or for that matter, a continuous increase in national debt, why don’t we think outside the box for once? According to Friedman, Congress seems to have a pretty hard time with that these days. Last year, Congress passed an energy bill that allowed no extra funding whatsoever for alternative forms of energy (i.e. wind, solar). Instead of encouraging people to perpetuate a problem, why don’t we encourage them to work with alternative, innovative solutions that will not only save America tons of money, reduce pollution and dependency on foreign oil? C’mon Congress. Even Luther College has an electric car. Take a hint.

Speaking of hints, America doesn’t have to look very far to take one. The European Union has been encouraging energy initiatives for awhile, and for countries like Germany, it has proved to be very successful. The same could be true for America. Why not prevent the predicted loss of 100,000 jobs by 2009 due to the rising industrial prices and instead create some more by innovating new energy policies? It’s time to remove the ridiculous partisan lines that divide Congress on some of the most pressing issues in America today, especially those regarding energy.

If Congress could put aside the silly arguments based on party ideology, a whole lot more could be done to ensure a better future for those budding young politicians all around America. Seriously, it can’t be that impossible. I’m sure that if Congress had some questions and concerns, the Luther College grounds crew would love to talk to them about the joys of electric vehicles.