Greasing the Wheels

So now oil is starting to wash up on the beaches in Texas, thanks to the never-ended bad news that is the BP Drama. For those of you living in a cave until just now, back in April a BP drilling facility in the Gulf of Mexico fell to pieces about a mile underwater, and has since been spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate that makes the Exxon Valdez spill look like a bad day at Jiffy Lube. Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states, just now emerging from the carnage of Katrina a few years back, are now losing the fishing and tourist industries thanks to zillions of gallons of greasy goop washing ashore. I pause at the news that Texas is now affected, only because it will be telling to see how the state known for its love of oil wells will react to this. That and the fact that Texas' governor hates Obama and the federal government, and I'll love to see him changing his tune when he asks, ten gallon hat in hand, that the feds step in and help the good folks in Texas clean all this up, or at least help pay for it.

That aside, I saw an article on CNN.com about 6 alternative cars to the Mini Cooper. The idea was to showcase the other little, fuel efficient go-devils currently on the market. Of the six alternative to the German Mini, only one was from an American car company (Ford). The others were all Asian - Honda, Nissan, Suzuki, Kia and Scion (Toyota).

Now, it doesn't surprise me that out friends in the Far East set the pace for peppy, high-mileage cars. But it does disappoint me that our auto industry here in the U.S. seems oblivious to the realities concerning oil and gas. It is common for addicts to live in a state of perpetual denial about their addictions, so allow me to attempt an intervention with a few reality bombs. Please note the following for the record:

• Gas is expensive. Granted, we pay less for our gasoline in the United States than a lot of other countries. But in the last few years, as our economy has circled the drain and jobs are evaporating, filling the gas tank is a bigger deal now than ever. Americans may be encouraged to "Buy American", but when we have to choose between treason and bankruptcy, then we are ultimatelty capitalists - which means we go where the bargains are. American car companies, in ignoring this, jeopardize their futures with the one captive audience they have.
• Oil supplies are not endless. Ask a scientist. We, as a country consume more oil now than ever, and the earth isn't making more at a rate that can keep up. Simple mathematics dictate that we will, at the rate we're going, run out before we've had a chance to phase ourselves into a more viable long-term alternative. We do ourselves and our children a grave disservice by not acknowledging this.
• It's only going to get worse. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in the 80's, we sat shiva for months, thinking that this was surely as bad as it could ever get. But in light of this current BP nightmare, we're almost nostalgic for that bush-league whoopsie. We are going to pay the piper on this one for decades to come. It's fair to say that the reality, the full reality of this has not yet landed on our collective consciousness. And we cannot afford to tell ourselves "surely this is as bad as it can get", as if the gods themselves would surely intervene to prevent anything any worse in the future. It is our job to draw the line in the oil-soaked sand and say to the big oil companies "this far and no further".

So to the American auto makers, please understand I am on your side here. I want you to succeed. I hate the thought of you sending your executives back to Washington (in your private jets) to ask for yet another bailout. You want to compete globally? You want to win back the hearts (and loyalty) of the American car-buying public? Acknowledge that our oil supplies are not infinite, and we're being pretty poor stewards of what little we have. We, the buying public, will always love that Detroit gave birth to the throaty "vroom" of the V8, and gave the world the Mustangs, the Corvettes, and the GTOs. But the rules of the game have shifted, and this is no time to wax nostalgic. Start dedicating yourselves to cranking out, en masse, fuel-efficient cars, hybrids, and other vehicles designed to take both the environment and the economy seriously. Maybe when we get the Gulf mopped up and the economy rebounds, we can talk about the possibility of making more useless money pit cars like the Humvee. But now, in light of the Gulf and my wallet, it's just in poor taste.

Global Warming, and My Two Cents

Okay, so it’s time for me to chime in with my two cents on this topic. Everyone else seems to want to contribute to the conversation. Why not me? This is a good thing, all this participation. Especially since so many people disagree so fundamentally. We get a good healthy debate.

There are those who claim our planet is being ravaged by greenhouse gasses, CO2 emissions, hole in the ozone, melting polar ice caps etc. Al Gore won a Nobel Prize for what was essentially a PowerPoint slide show telling us as much. He wasn’t saying anything new; he was just a household name giving it some much needed street cred.

On the other side of the argument, we have people who claim that the whole thing is made up. There is no global warming, they say; it's a myth. If there is a climate change happening, then it’s just the planet going through what it’s gone through since long before there were people. Ice Age, Warm Age, sunrise, sunset. They tell us that to think mankind is influencing it is just crazy at best, egomania on a global ecology scale at worst. We are but a blip in the history of the planet, which has gone through warming and cooling phases since there were dinosaurs. If there is a global shift, we’re reading too much into it.

Both sides have scientist saying they’re right. Both have indisputable facts to back it up. Both sides accuse the other of cooking the books. When the satellites tell us that the North Pole has less ice than it ever did, the global warming people say “we were right! We told you so!” When snow falls a few miles outside of Los Angeles as it did today, the naysayers say “You were wrong! We told you so!” Back and forth we go playing ideological ping-pong, and it’s easy to get confused. But no matter who you believe, you’re bound to be backed up by a slew of experts telling you you’re right.

So what’s the truth? If the truth is of the inconvenient variety, and we are contributing to climate shift through pollution, it behooves us to pay attention. If the naysayers are right, then we can tune out a well-meaning but inaccurate message.

The problem for me is the naysayers think we can continue to use oil like there's no tomorrow. As a nation we go through it like drunken sailors on shore leave. Now, I love plastic and other petroleum products as much as anyone, I love making my car go “vroom” as much as any other red-blooded American. But the truth is we don’t have an endless supply of oil. Yes, there are places we have yet to tap, but this isn’t the same world it was 100 years ago. Back then, Texas tycoons tapped into oil fields gushing with what seemed more oil than we could ever need. But things are changing. In 2004, a barrel of oil was selling for $50. Recently, we’ve seen it at $100. You don’t need to be an economics major to know that’s bad. We’re considering legislation that would let us tap oil wells in our national parks. This is a huge red flag. We have more people, more uses for petroleum products, and fewer places to drill than ever before, and it’s not going to get any better.

Let's not forget that our lust for cheap oil often has us in bed politically with people we might otherwise be at war with. Look no further than the Middle East to see just how desperate and crazy we are to get our hands on oil. Even if there were no environmental laws surrounded where and how we drill for oil, the inescapable truth is, we’re going to run out at the rate we’re going. And it will probably happen in my lifetime.

So our choice, regardless of the global warming question, is what are we going to do when the oil runs out? Forget the gas in your car for a minute. Look around your home, your office, your car and count how many plastic items you see. When the oil is gone, there will be no more new plastic. When the oil is gone, there will be no more synthetic materials. Think about that. Plastic is a petroleum product. You don’t have to agree with any particular ideology to know that oil is running low, and there are only two things that will keep us from running out: a plague that kills most of humanity, or our willingness to collectively wean ourselves off of the petroleum teat and look for other ways to meet and sustain our needs.

I personally believe hybrid cars are a good step. True, it doesn’t solve the problem by itself, but our willingness to drive vehicles that run on something other than solely gasoline demonstrates the more important thing: a willingness to try new things.

We have so many good ideas for how to provide energy: solar, wind, water. The nice thing about these types of energy is that they are clean and renewable. This means we don’t have to worry about running out or filling up landfills with toxic by-products. I can't believe that as a nation (at the very least New Jersey) we haven't already thrown ourselves headlong into developing these resources. It amazes me that we'd rather go to war to get our hands on a resource that's running low anyway than to develop technologies to replace our need for it. I’m not suggesting we all go back to living in teepees.

I’m not suggesting we hug trees and put flowers in our hair. Those of you pro-business, right-wing types, try it this way: if the Earth was a business, and you were a potential investor, wouldn’t you look at the long-term sustainability of that investment? Seeing as how we currently have no other planets to live on, maybe we ought to think about our ability to sustain ourselves and our way of life. And if our way of life means consuming a finite resource that is dwindling, then maybe it’s time to consider making a change.

I know, people hate change. We like to be eased into new things slowly, like getting into a hot bath. I’m old enough to remember when we phased out cars that ran on leaded gasoline. People complained. I remember when seat belts became mandatory. People complained. And yet years later we accept these as normal, even preferable. Now, when we see someone driving a car without a seatbelt, it is the exception rather than the rule. I believe that if we can accept that an idea is truly in our best interests, we will come around to accepting it eventually.

Which brings me back to global warming, finally. The final truth is, I don’t care if it’s true or not. I don't thing it matters, ultimately. We shouldn't have to have a global catastrophe looming over us to make us re-examine our stewardship of the planet. Even if global warming is junk science, the steps being suggested by the global warming crowd are good ideas. We should be willing to lighten our collective footprint on the planet even if it's not going to save us from disaster. We have the technology available today to provide for our needs that don't require chimney stacks billowing smog into the air. Fifty years ago that wasn't the case. But in the 21st century, we have enough collective intelligence amongst us to reason out ways to scratch our collective itches that don't require us to destroy the rainforests.

I like Al Gore, and I admire him for speaking out, but I'm not a scientist; I don't know one way or the other if he's right. The odds are, mankind’s pollution does have an adverse affect on the environment, and we need to do whatever we can to be responsible to the planet. So, buy a hybrid car. Recycle, and buy recycled goods. Insist on paper instead of plasticat the grocery store. And while you're at the grocery store, buy some organic food, just to try them. You don’t have to believe in global warming to believe that these are good things. Driving hybrids doesn’t have to be an environmental statement; it can just be your way of saying that you’re tired of getting screwed at the gas pumps. Buying organic doesn’t have to be about loving Mother Earth; it can be about not wanting to put pesticides and growth hormones in your body or your families’. See? You can still be a selfish bastard and make choices that are good for the planet.

You’ll notice that I’m not telling you how to vote. This isn’t about politics. This is about having clean air, clean water, and clean land. This is about passing on to future generations a planet that’s in as good a shape (or better) than we inherited from our parents. Plus, we never have to see that commerical with the indian at the trash dump, crying his single tear. Someday it will be great to turn to our kids and grandkids and be able to take a little credit for the clean world they live in. Sure, they won't appreciate it - kids never do.