Consider these points:

• The glass, copper and wireless and other hardware systems that comprise the Internet Services represent a ubiquitous form of digital fuel that is much cheaper to install, maintain and secure than any petroleum or biofuel fuel sources anywhere on the planet.
• Over 70% of the Fortune 1000 Corporations in America have installed VPN Systems.
• Corporate deployments of laptops for workers is rapidly being replaced by Smart devices, tablets and Hosted Virtual Desktop environments. Millions of US workers do carry portable devices which allow them to securely connect to work any time day or night. In 2007 for example there were 32 million business laptops sold in the US.
• Modern Telecommunications networks allows data, voice and video – in real time to happen on a global basis.
• Over 85% of working adults carry either business issued or personal cell phones. New smart devices and tablets have easy to use video built right into them. No training necessary!
• Video and Audio Conferencing Systems are widely available to many businesses and in fact are used extensively as a means to reduce the expense of Corporate Travel
• 70 million households in the US have High Speed Internet Services thanks to the FCC efforts to modernize the Broadband networks through the states, and competition in the market are driving prices lower, adding features and raising the quality for residential customers.

There is a real concern that prices for gasoline will not drop back to pre 2010 levels. This is partially caused by increased demand in new overseas markets like India and China as well as the fact that we have used up the readily accessible sources for crude oil and now are pursuing deposits that are located in harsh and inaccessible regions of our oceans. The cheap stuff is simply drying up and unless we can find alternatives or new commuting efficiencies, then all Goods and Services will also climb in price globally.

• Allowing access to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve did nothing to reduce prices at the pump. True market forces are not evident and petroleum and gasoline have always been highly manipulated commodities.
• The peak costs for US drivers for gasoline typically are in mid summer, and it is quite likely we will be seeing $5.00 or more per gallon prices well before the end of Spring
• CAFÉ regulations for more fuel efficient cars will take some time to generate any real fuel savings for the country, and many car buyers simply do not have the financial resources or home equity to make serious purchases due to economic uncertainty.
• India has requested more oil per day to serve the needs of it’s community of new car owners. They wish to acquire 80 million barrels per day. China too has their needs to access oil and the demand will continue to climb.
• US representatives are pleading with Saudi Arabia to pump more oil, the reduced supply has contributed to higher than normal prices
• Oil Fields in South America off hope, but essentially sit in politically unstable territories, and some of these countries are outright hostile to the U.S.
• Middle Eastern supplies of oil also sit in politically unstable regions and require military stabilization at an awful cost in terms of human capital and huge financial obligations.
• Deep Water drilling and ANWR are great source for domestic oil, but getting permission to access them is difficult.
• The Keystone Pipeline that can carry oil from neighboring Canada was denied, but the President could approve it based on conditional agreements for US Corporations to implement Telecommuting policies for employees that allows most of that oil to be stored in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. A carrot and Stick approach may be better than simply saying No.
• Disposable Income is being sucked out of the US economy at an alarming rate, thus hampering our recovery!

The reduced demand from a large national Telecommuting Effort would also benefit society and taxpayers by the following:

• Millions of tons of Tailpipe Emissions would be eliminated from the air and improve air quality in many metropolitan areas. Health related costs from lung related illnesses would be reduced
• Congested roads would cease to be a burden for those who do have to travel, and a George Washington University study indicates that for every percent reduction in traffic, there is a corresponding savings in additional gasoline consumption.
• Many commuters can be seen tapping away on their devices or on calls while stuck in traffic, and most commuters drive to work alone which adds to the mess on another level.
• Excess road surfaces can be renovated easier or not at all, thus saving the Department of Transportation and us taxpayers billions of repair dollars. It is quite possible that the road surfaces can be retrofitted for light rail services in some communities. Unlike Europe, we do not have rail solutions that are dependable.
• The average telecommuter would gain over 900 hours of personal time which is consumed by annual travel back and forth to work. Commuters too would gain back some time due to better road conditions.
• The Airline Industry is dependent upon petroleum too, and costs for airfare are skyrocketing.
• Agriculture equipment uses diesel more than any other fuel type, so reducing car and truck travel can free up more diesel fuel for food production in the US and helps to keep prices down for consumers.

Technology works, we just have to harness it for the good of the people.

PS – please ask Al Gore why he did not mention the word Telecommuting in his Inconvenient book. It seems a bit hypocritical that this was omitted. We need to work smarter since we’re running out of easy to get oil and easy to get money.

Thanks for listening.

Respectfully ,
Mike O’Grady
Sterling Heights Michigan