I always thought it was naive to think that by placing our lives, values and trust in the hands of one person, that we would all live happily ever after….but hey, I always make sure I vote! So, when I voted for Barack Obama, I voted for the kinds of changes I would like to see in this country. Regarding this nation’s energy issues, I am not satisfied with the President’s recent push for off shore drilling.
I wrote an article about why I felt off shore drilling would not fix the US energy woes during the McCain/Obama election race so I won’t go into what I discussed in the past other than saying that we use oil at a rate in this nation faster than we can pump it out of the ground—and no amount of holes we drill in the ground will satisfy what should be curbed—and that is, our insatiable addiction to the oil habit.
It just seems to me, however, that the President is somehow caving in and trying to attract support from the Bush, Cheney, McCain, Palin, and oil lobby club–all who which were adamant opponents of his ideas on energy policy. But rather, than getting to political, I would like to focus more on the idea that the US as a nation, needing to take inventory, responsibility, and accountability for how we presently use the oil we have.
To me, it is not worth leaving our dirty footprints on what are some of the earth’s last high quality environments—all life support systems, providing for free, some sort of sustenance for our very own lives. To me it is not worth polluting the last breath of air and last swallow of water for the sake of sustaining the kinds of economies that have our markets flooded with cheap Chinese plastic goods like Happy Meal toys we really don’t need in the first place.
Instead, why don’t we take a look at how we can find much of the fuel we supposedly need, in the fuel we waste on a daily basis as individuals. Let’s ask ourselves many questions how we use fuel daily, and if we really need to be using it the way we are using it. Some questions that pop up in my mind are the following…..
In terms of transportation: Do we really need to own a vehicle that gets a whopping 7 MPG in the city? Do we really need to add a gas powered motor to a bicycle? Do we need to let our cars idle for moments on end on a weather perfect day while waiting for someone? I am sure most are smart enough to figure out sensible alternatives if they put their minds to it and stop letting mass marketing tell them what they need to drive and how they need to drive to be a satisfied customer!
How about how we approach yard care? Do we really need to have a lawn treated with carcinogenic petro-based chemicals because we have been conditioned by companies like the one that rhymes with SNOTS—that a lawn has to be a colorless, fragrantless, sterile, lifeless and mono-culture patch of green turf that isn’t even used for a sporting event? I liked the neighborhood better when it was a peaceful, fragrant and colorful scene—especially after a long winter’s hibernation! Do we really need to keep all 20 acres of our rural property mowed? Why not plant a wildflower meadow on half of it instead? Furthermore, do we really need to mow the lawn 3 times a week just for the sake of making it look like a groomed carpet?
Do we have to use gas powered filthy emissions producing dirt blowers that just rearrange dirt and create a storm of ambient air pollution just because we think a driveway has to present the illusion of being anti-septic? Thanks for covering my house, car and lungs with filth. Try a broom; it is much more social and far less polluting.
How about how we carry groceries or other products? Paper or plastic? How about neither? Why not use something re-usable.Besides, ever notice how much these plastic bags are turning up in our environment. They are literally choking lakes and oceans.
These are just a few questions that address how we may be wasting oil on a daily basis that we may totally be taking for granted and never making that particular action’s connection with oil consumption. All involves the use of oil in either using it directly, or in the manufacture process of what product we are using that we do not really need to be using. Try and think of many more ways you may be using and wasting oil on a daily basis that you may not have considered–such as leaving the computer on for too long!
Finally, as a nation, we have been accustomed to using a certain level of oil and thus, we think we actually need this much. And, so drilling for more while ignoring the fact that we need to seek alternatives and conserve what we are already using— would only increase the dependence and addiction. Such is analogous to buying an alcoholic more to drink or a fat lady the all-you-can-eat buffet! We make up a small portion of the world population, but use most of its resources and demonstrates a total imbalance in how we live with the rest of the world. We really don’t need to be using this much oil. We use it because of selfishness, greed, and for some….a choice to remain oblivious—and because many of us have never been taught that resources aren’t limitless. It is time for a change…the real change I thought I was voting for. So, please…NO Bama…No oil drilling, for the fuel we think need can be found in the fuel we waste. Don’t cave in to the short term profit driven greed of a few.
Posted by Angry Man In The Basement at 9:33 AM No comments: