Black Gold, Texas Tea, shaper of our world, fuel of all industry, basis of all we know, source of plastic…and our current wars and struggles, the most vital resource of the industrial world, the root of much, if not all of our current woes.
Virtually EVERYTHING we know as ‘civilization’ and the ‘modern world’ we all take for granted is based on it, unless you have gone totally off the grid, your lifestyle is based on it……and it is running out….and the effects of basing OUR life on it are killing the life on our planet…..
And we have no real plan to replace it, no economic or power alternative to turn to in place or really, even on the horizon (in practical terms) as it becomes less available and more expensive and precious. And as the struggle to control of what remains becomes more and more contentious and vicious.
Inside is a series of videos, some funny some serious, one nostalgic…that deals with the impact and consequences that our reliance on this strange black liquid has wrought.
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quite a bit but I am going to need a way to brush my teeth and shave my legs in the “post oil” era.
if there are about 900 million cars
and true, developed and emerging nations base their strategy on oil
HOWEVER…
that leaves still billions of people who DO NOT base their lives on it
and those who try to minimize the impact and be resource conscious… just a few examples of what my new life will be like in The Netherlands (OMG… still can’t believe it)
anyway…
soon i will be living in a country were people bike to work, walk every day to the supermarket, and drive matchbox cars (well that’s what they look like) & pay about $6/gal.
think about it: if you live where you can walk or bike to the shops AND you have a fridge a little bigger than your kid would have in their dorm room, that saves a lot of energy.
biking not only saves fuel, but i’m looking forward to having a better body in my 50s than i did in my 20s. just sayin.
if we wait for the powers that be, we are fucked. we have to push them in addition to cosmic debris and nlob, among others, writing about ways we can calibrate our lives to live a little leaner. just a touch. nothing drastic. but start somewhere. make one change.
i know people think i’m nuts, but find ways to form relationships with people in China and India over the internets to exchange ideas and really, modernizing our lives by cutting down on conveniences. but maybe finding more involvement with each other… doing things together.
but one thing i can tell you: i love walking to the shops every night. it’s a nice ritual i have with my dutchman. we hold hands and catch up on the day. but we are involved in the process of our lives in a really nice way.
i’m not sure if that makes sense. anyway, that’s what i’m learning.
If the country had listened to Jimmy Carter on alternative energy, we could be buzzing around in little smart cars that get 100 mpg.
We could have also invested billions in our national rail system in those decades, to get most of the 18-wheelers off our highways.
Passive solar design, photo-voltaic materials, proper insulation, low power appliances can liberate us from Oil.
The problem is not oil. The problem is evil shit-heads like Bush who need to go to prison for life.
People always belittle Carter because of the Iranian hostage crisis, never understanding that eventually all were freed unharmed. Also, Iran was/is a batshit religious nut case, and noone has yet gigured out how to get them to change their ways.
The other knock on him is the inflation we endured during his 4 years, not understanding that the underfunding of Vietnam was a major cause. That was something for which he had no responsibity.
Carter was a good president– a great man of vision and sincerity–religion was a plus because he’s not a hypercrit.
He looks like he wishes he were limber enough to leap over the podium and rip out someone’s throat with his teeth.
He’s looking extremely frustrated these days.
That could be hard on his heart……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
PEACE!