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"1 - We need to build 3 massive refineries. One in the Gulf, Two on the West Coast. We haven't built a refinery in decades, and the ones we have are above maximum capacity."

IMHO - This will only increase our reliance on oil we do not control. Instead, I would suggest that we need to construct electrical generation plants, coal, hydro, whatever; even nuclear (though they take 10 years to build). And, we "immediately" undertake a national effort of "land a man on the moon" scale or greater, to maximize the use of the electric "plug in" vehicles (pure electric or hybrid) which are very close to being introduced.

Electrical power can come from many different sources (even "green" people can be satisfied), and, since most vehicles would be charged at night, we have adequate infrastructure to begin.

REMEMBER RIYADH!

When I talk about building refineries, what I'm saying is that

1) We need more, because we are at maximum, and whever one goes down for mechanical reasons or storms or etc, it causes a huge crisis.
2) We need more to refine the oil we should be pumping from our own reserves.
3) We need to difuse the refineries, as they are targets, and they are huge job sources. Building then, then operating them, will boost our economy.

IMHO - This will only increase our reliance on oil we do not control. Instead, I would suggest that we need to construct electrical generation plants, coal, hydro, whatever; even nuclear (though they take 10 years to build). And, we "immediately" undertake a national effort of "land a man on the moon" scale or greater, to maximize the use of the electric "plug in" vehicles (pure electric or hybrid) which are very close to being introduced.

We need to set a national goal of doubling our electric generating capacity, and to have 80% of our electricity be generated by nuclear. We should take a good look at the "pebble bed" reactor, which is a modular design which allows for a 2 to 3 year construction period. Due to modular design, you can add more capacity to an existing reactor site by adding more modules.

And it would have an effect on prices NOW, as the Saudis realize that, once the new reactors come online to power electric cars, they will have a greatly restricted market for their oil

Only one third of our oil is used for transportation...the rest for heating, manufacturing, etc.

We shouldn’t be using oil to generate heat! All those Northeast liberals still burning heating oil should get a clue.

And, we "immediately" undertake a national effort of "land a man on the moon" scale or greater, to maximize the use of the electric "plug in" vehicles (pure electric or hybrid) which are very close to being introduced.

Battery technology is the real key. Electric motors are already amazingly efficient and give instant torque. Regenerative breaking recharges the batteries and makes the breaks last incredibly long. Advance materials allow the cars to be lighter without sacrificing safety. Everything about extremely efficient, long-lasting electric cars has already been invented and manufactured, except for batteries that give the cars an acceptable range. I hope that Silicon Nanotube batteries take off. The government could give tax breaks and fast-track regulatory hurdles to get the factories started to building them.

Current Li-ion batteries are 600 joules per gram, while gasoline is 47,000 joules per gram. The new silicon nanowire anodes give this a 10x boost to 6,000 joules per gram, but they feed into different technologies. Internal combustion engines are about 20% efficient, while electric motors are 90% efficient. So battery technology only needs to reach 9,400 joules per gram to get the same overall power density. The new tech brings us only 36% from the capability of gasoline, with far less maintenance and much better flexibility.