oil.
I’m sitting here watching Syriana for the second time. It makes me think many things at once, strange that my mind is thinking them, but hardly able to separate and analyze them. A complexity I’ll leave to others to figure out.
It’s oil that drives my mind most mad. Terrible in almost all respects for the environment. And terrible in many respects for the world we live in. War, Environment, Politics, Finance. All (in recent modern history) are affected/effected by oil. Most startling to me is that the oil infrastructure has sprouted across the globe in little over a hundred years. What the hell was the world doing back in 1850? Fighting for gold in streams? Fighting for waterways, or fighting just to fight? Were the citizens of the world playing in parks, riding bicycles, and staring into the starry night?
I hate that 5 years ago when I got myself a car and I didn’t even know the implications its CO2 emissions were doing to have on our atmosphere. It makes me sick to think that I drive an SUV that gets just 18 mpg. And it makes me even more sick to think that Americans have little to do about their modes of transportation. Our country’s infrastructure is so built that it prohibits us from being good and conscious citizens. CAFE standards suck. The president is full of sh**. Oil companies have ruined our chances at quick change. Hydrogen is a dream, hybrids hardly a solution, and apathetic Americans are hardly pushing for change.
True, I know close to nothing about this subject, and yes I contribute daily to the Earth’s slow demise. But crap, I want to learn, I want to help, I want to be able to recognize opportunites to do those things.
Think, in 100 years or so we’ve built roads, gas stations, refineries, whatever the heck else we need to get our cars going. That’s not that much time. But frickin Texas & Conoco have got us in a death grip. We’re dependant. Argh. Can we rock change in the next 100? How the hell are we gonna topple oil? How in the hell are we gonna stop our planet from melting down?
It sure as hell isn’t hybrids. 80% of America can hardly afford to buy a new car, let alone a terribly ugly one. And oh yeah, they have carbon emissions too. But I suppose they’re a step in the right direction. Hmmm, maybe politics? Maybe giving Detroit to Canada? Maybe actually supporting alternative energy? Who knows, but would you mind thinking about it? Maybe even saying something to someone? Or doing something? Please…
Filed by ryanroth at July 29th, 2006 under Life