The oil industry.
Mar. 20th, 2006 11:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusAfter watching the 60 Minutes report on Global Warming and how the Bush Administration (Dick Cheney & Cronies 'R Us) is squelching scientific voices on the subject, I decided that a lot wrong with the world today is due to the dependence on oil.
We're destroying the environment, not in a "oops, dropped a candy wrapper" sort of way, but in a "turn the planet into an unliveable Venus" sort of way.
Wars are being fought over oil. Don't tell me we'd care about Iraq if it didn't have oil.
Why oil?
Not because we don't have other options, but because oil is an easily controlled commodity. Anyone can build a windmill or put up a solar panel. Oil profits can be funnelled through a small number of people at high margins. Certain powerful people want to keep milking their oil profits for as long as possible.
Oil has a stranglehold on the world economy.
I want out of the oil economy. It's pervasiveness tells us how deep the problem is.
I've already taken a few first steps. Ten years ago I lived a 45 minute drive from work and lived in my car. I moved, and now am about a ten minute bus ride from work/school, and can walk to work if need be. I'm still dependent on oil (in the bus) but it's much less.
Four years ago![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wildernessguru and I were a two-car household. I got rid of my car, and because of how close I live to downtown, we've only driven 15,000 miles in four years.
I live in an apartment, so I can't rig up a solar panel on my house (or set up hydro-electric power which is probably more likely in Seattle). But I don't need all this plastic when there are other options.
How else can we cut ourselves out of the oil economy?
We're destroying the environment, not in a "oops, dropped a candy wrapper" sort of way, but in a "turn the planet into an unliveable Venus" sort of way.
Wars are being fought over oil. Don't tell me we'd care about Iraq if it didn't have oil.
Why oil?
Not because we don't have other options, but because oil is an easily controlled commodity. Anyone can build a windmill or put up a solar panel. Oil profits can be funnelled through a small number of people at high margins. Certain powerful people want to keep milking their oil profits for as long as possible.
Oil has a stranglehold on the world economy.
I want out of the oil economy. It's pervasiveness tells us how deep the problem is.
I've already taken a few first steps. Ten years ago I lived a 45 minute drive from work and lived in my car. I moved, and now am about a ten minute bus ride from work/school, and can walk to work if need be. I'm still dependent on oil (in the bus) but it's much less.
Four years ago
wildernessguru and I were a two-car household. I got rid of my car, and because of how close I live to downtown, we've only driven 15,000 miles in four years.I live in an apartment, so I can't rig up a solar panel on my house (or set up hydro-electric power which is probably more likely in Seattle). But I don't need all this plastic when there are other options.
How else can we cut ourselves out of the oil economy?
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 09:28 pm (UTC)Reducing your oil "footprint" definitely includes all the oil that goes into making plastics, and making electricity. Reducing use and/or purchase of excess packaging, carrying your own cloth shopping bag, eating organic food (much fertilizer is petroleum-based)...
anyway, you are succeeeding really well on your own at reducing your personal "footprint," its getting the rest of society to join in and change large-scale systems that is the real problem. like, giving up cars for public transportation, giving up McMansions for infill development, giving up foods shipped ten thousand miles so you can eat them out of season.
anyway - GO YOU!
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 09:57 pm (UTC)That's cool. Most houses in LA had solar panels in the 40s, but home owners were paid cash to give them up and plug into the new power grid.
A solar panel would work in Seattle during the summer. We have very long, sunny days. The spring, fall, and winter is so rainy there has to be other options that harvest non-stop light rain. :)
We're getting there. I really don't like what oil dependence is doing to our world, on many levels.
Icarus
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 10:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 10:43 pm (UTC)I'm having the worst time finding your email.
Icarus
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Date: 2006-03-20 10:03 pm (UTC)infill development
What's infill development?
Icarus
no subject
Date: 2006-03-21 12:50 am (UTC)infill & it's cousin "New Urbanism" are NOT very in-line with the Old American Dream of a McMansion and an SUV, but they seem to be a good way to economize on public infrastructure and also create an economically diverse neighborhood. I dunno if you ever peruse my del.icio.us links, but if you do, click "planning" and there are some fascinating articles there if you are ever really into learning more. not that you would have time!!!! :-) you have Other Good Things to do instead :-)
no subject
Date: 2006-03-21 08:37 am (UTC)Possible strategies include: find a local farmers' market (in the UK at least, they often have regs that only allow the selling of local-grown food, as a way to support small growers), and/or grow a bit of your own. In an apartment, you can do a quite a bit even with indoor window-ledges (I ended up with a jungle of tomatoes growing over my hard-drive last summer) - probably not enough to make any significant difference, but it's definitely an interesting education in the realities of food production.