To the editor:

Can you imagine an old conservative octogenarian like me on social media? Neither can I.

Yesterday, I got into a really good discussion with several friends on social media regarding our energy needs. Perhaps, as I have never really believed before, social media does have some value.

I wrote a book about three years ago that discussed many of the problems prevalent in our society today and offered possible solutions. One of the issues discussed was our energy problems.

At that time, through consultation with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Electrical Engineering Department at Kansas State University, I learned that we could not make widespread use of green energy sources until we removed two major roadblocks: one our inability to store meaningful amounts of electricity and the other the obsolescence and vulnerability of our electrical grid. These two obstacles made all of the noise coming out of Washington D.C. regarding the viability of green energy just that; noise to maintain or attract new voters.

I learned yesterday, however, that Elon Musk and his associates have made real progress in developing a super capacitor battery that is capable of storing significant amounts of electricity. Although I still have concerns regarding the ability of our grid to sustain increased input of green energy, I believe that this is a huge step forward in addressing both our energy concerns and our economic woes.

I am more excited about the future of America than I have been for quite some time. I think the way is clear to again become the worldwide beacon of democracy and prosperity if we put the proper people in office; people who will quit placing roadblocks in the way of progress. In my opinion, one of the most important things our federal government can do is to just get out of the way and let the United States of America reach its natural potential.

I believe that at the present time we need to revamp our domestic oil production to its maximum capacity, while at the same time making development of green energy sources a top priority. This has so much upside. 

We can become free of oil dependency on foreign powers. We can export the excess of oil we produce over our own needs taking some of the pressure off of Europe regarding Russian oil dependency. This would also reduce the price of gasoline, ramp up our economy and reverse the inflationary trend we are now in. It would create jobs, increase our Gross Domestic Product, decrease our national debt and improve the balance of trade. And at the same time, we need to work diligently to continue the incorporation of green energy into our total energy grid.

At the end of the day, I suspect that our energy needs will be met using a combination of sources: fossil fuels, nuclear energy; plus, renewable sources such as wind, solar power and waves.

The important thing is to get people with some common sense in our federal government in the near future. Please vote carefully and intelligently in the upcoming mid-term elections!

Don McCullough

Manhattan