It has been almost 5 years since the American people suffered the rude awakening to the fact that its energy supply no longer was in United States control. Since that time, the American people have witnessed a circus-like performance of institutions, political movements, and individual politicians, both local and national, as they have used the energy issue as a vehicle to achieve their goals to reorder society and to jockey for a redistribution of power. The energy "crisis" has been manna from heaven for the common denominator for most of the evils which it seeks to correct in our society. The net result of actions taken to correct the energy problems has been a barrage of recommended and enacted regulations which, rather than improve energy supply, act to inhibit it sev rely. More often than not actions taken by the federal government in the name of correcting the energy problem are more oriented toward increasing the severity of the problem.

Federal policies and regulations which act to inhibit energy-resources development range from limitations and restrictions to the exploration for energy resources to the development of new technologies to create and use energy. Every step in the process of discovering, producing, delivering, and using energy has come under federal control by a myriad of federal agencies.

As a technologist and a pragmatist, it is hard for me to accept the "crisis" atmosphere of the energy issue when so many are accepting the proclamation of so few that "up" is "down" and the "moon is made of green cheese." It is time for thinking people to knuckle down and to dispel the energy myths with truth and fact in order that we, the American people, can get on with our business of assuring ourselves a viable future as an industrial society based on the free enterprise system. I fear that if we falter on this mission it will mean the end of the standard of living and the personal freedoms we have worked so hard to establish and to maintain in the United States of America.

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