Energy independance!

     Ever since I was very little I have been a car nut. Well, anything with a motor nut really. I've been told stories of me lying on my back under my tricycle with a wrench emulating my Dad under his FormulaVee race car. I fed his race engine parts it didn't like. I rode in his roadster in parades. Later I spun his roadster off the track at Portland International raceway. I drove  a hotrod Camaro in high school, and I started working as a mechanic right after that.
     My job, and my hobbies have always revolved around engines, and so around Gasoline and oil. Like so many others, I have watched the price of oil and fuel go up and up, and have just opened my wallet further. I always just saw it as an element out of my control, and paid the piper. I moved to Alaska in high school just before the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound. Through the years I have watched Exxon litigate their way out of paying the people whose life were ruined by the negligence of their Captian. I listen as Exxon complains about having their Pt. Thompson leases (which they have never started on) revoked. I see reports that Exxon posts record profits while the rest of us suffer life altering economic problems.
     It finally hurt me enough, financially and morally, to change. Maybe soon it will hurt enough for others to do the same. I have to do something to reduce my personal independence on oil. I live off-grid with batteries and inverter, but rely on a Generator for charging. I am looking at Solar panels and micro-hydro to replace or supllement that. In a weird twist, I am looking for a sailboat for transportation across the bay. I am going to build an Electric car or ATV to cut my gas use for going to town. My sailboat will have an Electric Auxilary drivemotor.
     If a die-hard, 12v nervous system, gas in my veins, gearhead like me can change, then so can anyone. I am lucky enough to be able to use my skills to go green. If you can't, find someone who can and ask questions. Don't pull at the Petrol Collar and complain about it getting tighter. Take it off! Take back control of your life. Look into alternative energy for your home. Look into electric cars. You'll be suprised how many people could do %90 of their driving with one. Gain back your Independence.