The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

OK...so Tulsa used to be "The Oil Capitol of the World"  Now, we've got the YP Tulsa "New Kind of Energy" slogan, and it got me thinking...

What does Tulsa want to be?  What will drive the economy of the future (besides health care and ringtone downloads...)?

I think Tulsa should invest in becoming a leader in renewable/green energy technology.  It's the obvious progression after oil (just as petroleum replaced coal which replaced whale oil, which replaced...I dunno...burning sticks...).  Let's move ahead to technologies that will save us from involvement in Mideast debacles, funding terrorist states, and worrying about corporations that can't be bothered to perform pipeline maintenance.  Let's turn around and face forward instead of always looking back.

We've got a world-class petroleum engineering program at TU...what we need is a world-class green energy program!  We've got sun, we've got wind, we've got options no one's even thought of yet...and won't until we start doing the research.

What time is better?  We've got huge profits from the oil industry...let's invest those profits in the next big thing!  (I know a man who used to sell typewriters. Guess what?  He doesn't sell typewriters anymore...he changed with the times and now sells computer equipment...and if anyone ever develops a "beam me up, Scotty" device...he'll sell that next.)

Instead of being the call center/convenience store/move HQ to Houston/I sure miss the good ol' days capitol of the world, let's do something we can all be proud of...like, maybe, saving the world.

It's time for a NEW new kind of energy!  It's time!