The energy crisis that hit the world in 2008 isn't over, it's just gone dormant.  All the factors that drove energy prices sky high are still in place, and the Obama Administration has done next to nothing about it, so far.

Obama has declared his up-coming policies to drive the phase-in of more "renewable" energy sources as the solution to much of our energy ills.  With that, and changing light bulbs, we will save the world.  The only problem with Obama's energy ambitions, they are all too far in the distance.  And they will not entirely supplant the use of fossil fuels at the end of the day either.  Current technology in the renewables field is either clumsy or grossly inefficient, and both are enormously expensive to implement on a large scale. 

Sooner or later, despite Obama's disastrous fiscal policies, the economy will recover.  Just as with FDR's New Deal, it will take much longer with the multi-trillion dollar deficit economic ball and chain than without.  However, the recession will end at some point, and when growth begins, high fuel costs will immediately return - hec fuel costs are already creeping up, and we are in one of the deepest recessions since The Great Depression.

The here-and-now is all about domestic vs foreign sources of oil.  Obama refuses to encourage or even allow the development of new sources of domestic oil, even though we pretty much know where the oil is and how to get it.  The reason for this is now predominantly about global warming, before that bugaboo, it was the environment hazard of drilling oil in areas deemed ecologically sensitive or protected.  This despite tremendous advances in drilling footprint and safety.

And herein lies the conundrum for the Obama Administration, without a solid growth rate in GDP, they will not be able to accomplish their goals, however wrong they may be.  A good growth rate in GDP requires reasonable fuel costs, otherwise the economy will creep along, at best at a very low growth rate, constrained by the high cost of energy.  The global economy is oil based, literally, and this is not going to change at the snap of Obama's fingers.

Renewable energy sources as we know them today are not going to solve our needs for energy supplies into the near and far distant future.  We need a technology break-through for a new energy source that is preferably near ecologically neutral, and limitless, or nearly so.  That's not wind power.  That's not solar power in it's current form.  We need something brand new -  maybe Blacklight Power, Inc. has the solution, or maybe there will be a break-through in fusion science.  Or something else yet again.  Whatever it turns out to be, sustained growth requires that we find a Holy Grail energy source of the magnitude of crude oil when it's properties were first being realized.  Without that, within our life-times, the world will begin a painful and very dangerous decline in standard of living and quality of life.

And since the Obama Administration appears not to comprehend this, Obama will still be taking about wind power while Americans scream bloody murder about $8/gallon gasoline. 

There are short, mid, and long-term solutions needed to manage our energy needs.  Obama is focused  on transitionary "green" technologies that are mid-term gap-fillers between today and the future-state.  These are not viable long-term solutions to the ever growing demand for energy by an increasingly technology dependent globe, and offer nothing for our immediate energy needs.  A rational energy policy requires elements of all three:

Short term solutions:  Develop domestic fossil fuel resources to meet growing energy demand in order to control energy cost.

Mid-term gap-fillers:  Natural and nuclear energy sources to augment fossil fuel resources. 

Long-term technological break-through:  Find that nearly limitless supply of energy from a new clean power source.

Drill now, or PAY later.