Feeling a little wired up? Here's why

I've been pretty charged up, lately, and now I know that the rest of you are feeling the same.

A nationwide survey by HealthSaver, a Connecticut- based health-care agency, shows that the Inland Empire is the No. 1 consumer of high-caffeine energy drinks in America.

That's right, residents of San Bernardino and Riverside counties drink more Red Bulls, Rockstars, Amps and Monsters than people in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or anywhere else in the United States.

I admit, I was a bit nonplussed when I first heard this news. I wondered, what are we doing with all this extra energy?

Then it hit me, the answer, like a bolt out of the blue.

We need extra energy because of who we are. And because of where we are.

First, we have to cover more ground than other people. The Inland Empire is huge. It's a land of extreme highs, lows and distances. We have Southern California's tallest mountains (San Gorgonio Peak is 11,502 feet). We also have the lowest elevation in the entire Western Hemisphere (parts of Death Valley are almost 300 feet below sea level). We have the biggest county in the nation (San Bernardino County is 20,000 square miles in size, larger than nine of the 50 states).

Obviously, it takes a lot to get from here to there in the Inland Empire.

It takes energy. Lots of energy.

Also, we have longer, sunnier days than most people. We typically get more than 300 sunny days a year in the Inland Empire. That's about twice as many as New York or Chicago.

In cold, dark places, people hunker down. They stay indoors. They huddle.

Not us. We take advantage of our weather. We get out there. We do stuff. Year-round.

We're extra active, which means we need extra energy.

Our location poses other challenges for us, too. We have to withstand Santa Ana winds. We have to ride out the occasional earthquake. We have to outrun wildfires and floods and mudslides.

Red Bull, anyone?

Of course, we must be equal not only to the challenges that nature puts before us, but the challenges we put before ourselves.

With all our room, with all our sunny days, with all our booming growth and potential, we must work hard on building the best future for ourselves.

We're going to need all the energy we can get.

We want to build stronger communities, safer schools, better roads.

We want to clear out the gangs, clean up the streets, pick up the trash, put an end to blight.

We want to make this a better place for families, for kids, for animals. We want to help the less fortunate to help themselves.

We want to preserve the best of our past, and change what needs to be changed, so that tomorrow will be better than today.

We have lots to do with all our energy. Let's not waste a drop.