The APEX News Network on-line posted a short article titled, “Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill 2010 – Sparks Debates on Energy Production”.
http://apexnewsnetwork.com/2824/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-2010-sparks-debates-on-energy-production/
At the beginning of the article was a comment regarding politicians "driving gas guzzling SUV’s or traveling in private jets" while promoting clean energy. This seems to me to be the first of two key points in this article. It not only highlights politicians hypocrisy but as you will read later, it points to ours as well.
The second key point states that "As American politicians bicker about the proper policies, American citizens will continue to hope and pray for a solution that solves our country’s energy problems and protects our environment as well."
These two comments bring us to the apex of the problems we face. Hypocrisy versus hopes and prayers are in direct opposition to each other and doom all of us to repeating a never ending cycle of drilling, refining, burning and polluting indefinitely.
Hopes are good and it is healthy for us to all have a hopeful vision of the future. As a person of faith I believe prayer is never a bad thing either, but hope and prayer on their own without aggressive action relegate us to the dusty closet of sameness. For those familiar with the Christian faith the prime example is the lives of the disciples. They had more hope than most and I am sure they prayed a lot but they gave their entire lives in devotion to the actions necessary to spread the Gospel at the behest of the One they loved.
When we step back and objectively observe what is going on in modern times, the responsibility for the tragic events we are now witnessing in the Gulf of Mexico does not ultimately rest with a broken political system. Most of us know that system is corrupt, and in the end will never turn against the big money interest that keep its’ wholly owned politicians in power.
Waiting for a broken political system to fix things like oil spill disasters is like a solar manufacturing company counting on government subsidies to make solar technology profitable. That is madness in the real world of business and competition. Government policies constantly change between the blowing winds of populism and lobbyist manipulation. The solar industry found this to be painfully true when Germany and Spain reversed their generous solar subsidy programs at the beginning of the great recession. The industry has been trying to recover with varied results ever since. Solar does make sense as it's clean and limitless. Big coal and oil receive massive on-going, seemingly permanent subsidies in spite of the billions and billions of dollars in profits they make. For now solar does need subsidies but long term it must and should stand on its own.
When you really drill down on who is ultimately responsible for oil as the dominating, focal commodity in our world we must get brutally honest.
The responsibility to end our indefinite dependence on oil resides wholly with us, the consuming public. What is needed is not only a sea change in our thinking but a complete reversal of actions we have taken and continue to take, day after day for nearly a hundred years now.
Of course these mind sets and behavioral changes will never be easy as we are fighting trillion dollar multi-national corporations, but…. these corporations desperately need two things, money and millions, even billions of consumers to provide that steady flow of cash that keeps their record profits and polluting practices in constant motion.
That’s where we come in. We can change our minds and as a result there are actions we can take that when multiplied millions of times over can have a real positive impact on reducing our dependence on oil.
We have a bumper sticker our 15 year old Toyota Avalon that says, “My Next Car, No Plug, No Deal”. That bumper sticker has been there for years. Our Avalon has over 200,000 miles on it. It passes smog every time and still gets 30 miles per gallon because we faithfully and meticulously maintain it. Our ultimate goal is to pressure the auto companies to move away from their 100 year old internal combustion engine technology.
We are dead serious about not buying another car unless it is significantly cleaner than our existing one. The closer to zero emissions it is and the less oil it uses, the better.
Late last year we purchased a hybrid that is rated a Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle, (SULEV). Yes they really do have that designation. It exists to encourage people to think about what we drive and how we pollute. We plan to convert this car to a plug-in hybrid as soon as we can afford it, bringing it even closer to no gas and no emissions.
We are taking personal responsibility to eliminate old dirty polluting technologies from our lives overall. In March we installed solar panels on our home, (yes we did take advantage of government incentives while they are still available) and in December we are taking delivery of our Nissan LEAF all electric vehicle that we will someday charge with power directly from the sun.
It occurred to me after 9/11 just how personally responsible I was as a direct major contributor to the OPEC nations. I’m talking quite literally here. I sat down and started to add up just how much of my hard earned money goes into the pockets of people and nations who hate America. I was stunned to discover that if I lived an average lifespan, at least100,000.00 of my money was going to the Hugo Chavez’s’ and King Saud’s of the world.
Using every method I could think of I determined that’s a pretty accurate number and maybe even quite a bit lower than the actual amount.
Here’s the real stunner, multiply that by hundreds of millions of my fellow Americans and in our lifetimes the amount of wealth we directly transfer out of our Nation with our use of oil is beyond 23 trillion dollars.
Now I ask you, what businessman of any persuasion, honest or otherwise would not aggressively pursue that market?
So my next question is somewhat rhetorical. Whose fault is it really when the extraction of oil pollutes our planet?
Walk into your bathroom like I have and take a good long hard look into the mirror or better yet, look at yourself in your side view mirror the next time you are filling your car up with gas. Then turn around and walk or drive away with a commitment to do something about it. If we don’t, all of our descendants are going to have to.
Those who need big trucks can plan to replace them with hybrids, or natural gas burners. It doesn’t have to happen instantaneously but your mind can change and start to plan for a better future now. There is nothing wrong with using a more efficient or as some call it a “bridge fuel” vehicle until a more advanced technology comes along.
Most people don’t realize that diesel engine locomotives are actually giant hybrids that are not propelled by their diesel engines but instead by huge electric axle motors. The diesel engines are only there as weighs to keep the trains wheels from spinning when pulling incredible loads and as electricity generators. Train designers discovered a long time ago that you could not build a diesel engine big enough to fit in a locomotive that could pull a heavy train. They did find out electric motors have maximum torque at 1 rpm and up. If you don’t believe me, look it up. You will be as amazed as I was. This technology has been out there for 60 years. Do you really doubt that with American inventiveness we cannot do similar things for long haul truckers and people who need and prefer large format vehicles?
There are tons of exciting technologies out there today, like the 30 ton container hauler that the port of Los Angeles has been using for years. It’s all electric! Check it out.
http://www.portoflosangeles.org/newsroom/2008_releases/news_051608_et.asp
There is Smith Electrics producing electric trucks of all sizes. FedEx and UPS are already embracing these technologies. Not only do they reduce their pollution output, it just makes economic sense to try to lower their fuel cost as much as possible.
http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/
I strongly encourage you not to be negative about these technologies. I have heard all the arguments. They don’t have enough range, they look like golf carts, they take forever to charge and on and on. Ranges are improving and electric cars and trucks are starting to hit the market that look every bit as good, if not better than their ICE counterparts. Don’t be fooled by the myth EV’s are underpowered and slow. Look at Tesla with their roadster hitting 60 miles per hour off the line in under 4 seconds? People who have driven the Nissan LEAF are always commenting on the quickness and power of the car. Rapid charging as quick as 10 minutes is becoming a reality. Battery swapping technologies are now out of the bag as evidenced by Project Better Places’ building of Israel’s’ nation wide battery swap infrastructure for the new Renault / Nissan cars coming out in 2011 and beyond. Israel gets it. Being dependant on the Middle East for oil simply does not make sense.
In spite of all the new technologies I still hear the detractors. Why? What happened to Americans saying we are going to swim against the tide and do what’s in our best interest? Why can’t we be inventors and innovators and builders again? You know the answer to that question and it is, absolutely we can!
Remember, in our time off after work in the evenings, we have been watching Auto Company and oil conglomerates marketing campaigns every few minutes for our entire lifetimes! Do you honestly think that has not biased you in any way? Please be honest with yourself. When it hits you like it did me, the freedom you experience from coming to know there is a better way is quite transformative.
One plus hundreds of millions can have an incredible impact. Let’s get serious and get this done. I don’t want our kids and grandkids to have to deal with a polluted Gulf or a polluted earth. I am going to follow my Fathers instructions to me when I was a kid. He used to say, “Kenny, when you use something, clean up after yourself and leave it better then you found it.” Good advise Dad, I’m going to do just that.
