I can't help but think of the greed and obsession that Upton Sinclair writes about in "Oil!" as I watch another day go by without any solution to the oil catastrophe in the Gulf. It's almost too much - my stomach hurts and I lose my appetite every time I see another headline about the BP spill - almost enough to make me callous to the whole situation.
But we can't be callous. Not when we're losing thousands of wildlife a day. Not when countless people are volunteering to try to clean up someone else's mess. Not when this catastrophe threatens to become bigger than it already is.
I already boycott Citgo because Chavez is a thug. Now you can add BP to the list of places I won't fill up at.
But herein lies the problem. While the bigger solution is to vote against legislation that calls for offshore drilling, that really implies an independence from oil. So...what do we do? Wind power would be optimal, but as we've seen with the controversy on Cape Cod, it brings its own set of problems. And solar power would be great, but it's costly and may not provide the magnitude of energy we need. It's no secret that we get the biggest bang out of oil...it's the most efficient of all the energy resources we have. But we've got to find another way.
Maybe this, then, is what makes my stomach hurt: that while this disaster makes us re-examine our choices and options, it may not ultimately make an impact on our behavior in the long run.
And that's scary, especially since we know history repeats itself.
1 comment:
I'm not a big conspiracy theorist, but I find it incredibly difficult to believe that we don't already have suitable energy alternatives.
I think efficient alternative energy has already been "discovered" but the long term implications and cost to implement such new techology is currently outweighing the positives.
Not to imply these two issues are comparable, but it's kinda like the situation with pantyhose. There ARE indestructible pantyhose, but why put out a more durable, lasting product when the current scheme of cheaper, less efficient product works for the manufaturer. By nature, consumers must keep purchasing them b/c they tear/run. They're cheap, so people don't mind doing it.
My point is, with all we've already accomplished in this life, I think it's unimaginable that we don't already have good, sustainable, efficient alternative energy solutions, but when what we're currently doing "works" for the manufacturers, there's no incentive to change. Consumers tolerate increases in gas hikes and until such time when the price to implement new alternatives is cheaper (in the long run) than continuing to do what we're doing, we're not likely to see much change.
You're right, too....this will likely not make an impact on our behavior. Sad, but true.
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