Public Commentary   As an avid reader of this publication, and a frequenter to the opinion section, I have read some very intriguing articles advocating for the drilling of domestic oil. Reading through these articles, it occurred to me that there were no articles opposing this rather conservative thought process. As a 19-year-old, I am a supporter of making a better future for my country, and I envision a future when we are not dependent on oil, foreign or domestic. I firmly support Congress in its efforts to prevent domestic drilling, but they must take action to initiate alternatives to oil consumption. Solar and hydrogen-powered vehicles are on the verge of breaking into the market, but unfortunately the companies at the forefront are Japanese. Ford and GM should move to the cutting edge of technology rather than Toyota and Honda setting the standard. The automobile powers of Detroit can work to not only develop hydrogen, solar, or electric-powered cars but also develop these technologies to heat and cool our homes and provide the electric power to our communities. In addition, our country can reweatherize all the public and private structures so that no energy is lost. These new initiatives will be what urban revivalist and environmentalist Van Jones has aptly named the “Green New Deal.” Structured after Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s ingenious project, the “Green New Deal” is designed to create a reformed economy based around the aforementioned green initiatives which would create new jobs for our struggling economy. Not only in Detroit, where the automobile industry would be revived with hydrogen, solar, and electric-powered vehicles but across the nation by the government giving reweatherizing opportunities and solar power installation jobs to those in the most impoverished urban and rural areas to revitalize those communities and the American economy. Giving jobs to the neediest people will also cut down on crime. Rather than overfillingour prison systems and weighing down our already-poor economy, let’s show the youth in poor areas that jobs are available to make an honest living and cut off crime before it happens. Though it may take time, this plan is an incredible opportunity that the United States must take advantage of. Though drilling for domestic oil may be a temporary solution, we cannot continue relying on oil for our energy needs, we cannot continue polluting our environment with the burning of fossil fuels, and we cannot allow our economy to fall even further behind the world market. I love the United States of America and I cannot bear to see this country dragged below other world powers by its own destructive decisions. The “Green New Deal” will reform our ways and push us once again to the forefront of the global economy. It is essential that we take action now so that future generations will not be confronted with the same problems we are struggling with.

Sam Bryson-Brockmann