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CHARLOTTE – Former Shell Oil president John Hofmeister spoke to a small crowd at Queens University Wednesday morning about the crisis in the gulf.

His concern, however, is not about the oil spill. It's the bigger picture. Hofmeister predicts if the government and big oil companies do not find a way to utilize alternative energies soon, there will be a collapse within the decade.

“What's happening in the Gulf of Mexico is and oil company executive's worst nightmare," Hofmeister said. "Which means not enough energy to keep the lights on and to keep our gas tanks full," he continued.

Hofmeister says that the country needs a Federal Energy Resources System, modeled after the Federal Reserve. His plan also calls for a 50-year plan that puts all forms of energy to use.

“We have to really come together quickly, take politics out of energy, stop thinking about a republican or a democratic solution. What we need is an American solution.”

No stranger to the hot seat himself, Hofmeister faced six congressional hearings while president of Shell Oil from 2005 to 2008, when gas prices hit an all-time high.