While we are grappling to understand the height, width, and breadth of the mortgage crisis, another crisis that we have detailing has fallen off the front pages: the energy crisis. Here's why we have been describing energy as the next Y2K:
- 9-11 was a harsh lesson in the Islamists' visceral hatred of our Western way of life, and the fiendish extremes to which they would go to harm us.
- The internecine fighting in Iraq, if anything, should be a constant reminder that the terrorists seek to destroy anyone who stands in their way, even their own people.
- Katrina showed how fragile our refining and energy distribution systems were.
- Too much of the American, yes the Western, way of life is held hostage to energy; and too much of the world's energy supply is in countries who hate not just Americans, but any country that follows an open society of free markets and democracy.
The recent sell off has hit almost all stocks and sectors. During this sell off, we have been nibbling on the three stocks that we believe currently possess the best technology and products to dramatically reduce energy consumption, without abandoning out our way of life-- Boeing, Toyota, and United Technologies. These three companies currently have products on the market that can reduce energy consumption by up to 50%(compared to older technologies) in planes, automobiles, and heating and air conditioning systems, respectively.
Here's our bottom line, and we are borrowing from a press release by the World Business Counsel for Sustainable Development (WBCSD): There is a talk about "green" this and "green" that, but, thus far, most individuals, companies, and governments have done very little to diminish energy consumption.
Energy conservation may seem like an oxymoron, but we believe that a true cost-benefit inflection point is near, when people will realize that the technology is available and affordable here and now to dramatically reduce energy consumption.
The reason we call this an Energy Y2k is because when that day comes, there will be a mad rush to get aboard the new technology. We don't know what will cause it, and we have no special skills at seeing the future, but no individual, corporation, or government can live beyond its means indefinitely.
In saying this, we are not talking about doomsday or end-times. We are just saying that there are technologies available that offer people some insurance against rising energy prices, resulting from uncertain energy supplies, and the wisest course of action may be to own both the new technologies and the companies who own them.
