the oil companies are screwing us
yeah i know. but this is one instance when corporate greed could potentially really work itself out... if all goes really wrong - or right - depending on your point of view.
- a buddy and i were talking at lunch sunday, about a particular post from Scott Adams (Creator of Dilbert) that really caught our attention and has been resonating with us for weeks...
we both said we aught to blog about it - but all i'm really gonna do is link to it.
anyway - these two articles taken side by side pretty much sum up why I am a fan of american gas prices reaching $5 / gallon - and the sooner the better.
- a buddy and i were talking at lunch sunday, about a particular post from Scott Adams (Creator of Dilbert) that really caught our attention and has been resonating with us for weeks...
we both said we aught to blog about it - but all i'm really gonna do is link to it.
anyway - these two articles taken side by side pretty much sum up why I am a fan of american gas prices reaching $5 / gallon - and the sooner the better.
Labels: fuel, gas, oil, ScottAdams
posted by P3T3RK3Y5 for meltingearth
4 Comments:
Interesting, to be sure. Did you see the stunt that the Yes Men pulled last week in Canada on this stuff?
However, I see a couple problems.
1) The ethanol and biofuel "revolution" will necessarily come at the expense of food production, since food products are used to make these fuels. According to the National Farmers Union (Canada), world grain supplies are dwindling rapidly without much hope of another "Green Revolution." So by using biofuels widely in industrial countries we would essentially condemn to death and starvation a large portion of the world's population by removing their food source or driving up prices so much that it's more economical for local producers to sell their product to the global energy conglomerates than to the people in their own countries. Basically, we WOULD be running our cars off the bodies of the global poor. The benefit is that the poor people will mostly be confined to the out-of-the-way parts of the world like, you know, Africa and stuff, so we don't really need to worry about it.
2) A large portion of the US population heat their homes with heating oil, the price of which is directly tied to the price of gasoline and crude oil (since gas and heating oil are produced at the same refineries). When gas prices go up 60%+, we, the rich segment of the population, will be able to absorb the price increase in our gasoline bills. So we pay $60 instead of $40 at the pump. Big deal, that's only two lunches at Au Bon Pain different. But the poorer citizens that live in the out-of-the-way areas of our major metropolitan areas (think SE) whose homes were never hooked up to our wonderful Methane infrastructure will be hit quite hard during the cold winter months. Choosing between food and heat isn't a Catch-22, it's not a Hobson's choice, it just sucks. So again, essentially we'll be using the poor to boost our own "luxury" fuel supplies, but man, those new technologies sure will be good for us! (not you, poor people, sorry)
That's not to say I don't believe in investment in alternative energy sources. We obviously need them. I just don't think we should go around pretending that they'll be good for everyone. And it's too late anyway. They won't be up and running in time to prevent the geo-political disasters that are imminent due to the lack of produceable oil so we might as well all go out and get ready for the coming dark age.
I'm going to go buy a shotgun and a rake.
And maybe a trowel of some kind.
wow. excellent. good links. the yes men are awesome.
except now my blog post is top heavy - or whatever - with more content in the comments than in the original post.
there are a lot of dynamics at play and i don't pretend to understand them all - but i think the way we live and work will change too as gas prices go up. e.g. i drove an hour this morning past about 10 different offices owned by my same company to get here, to do a job i could've done from home. maybe it wont' be simple - but i'm getting really tired of all the "relationships" we've created and destroyed based upon "national interests" - it's time to stop pretending there. you bring up a lot of good points though - distribution does need to be phased. maybe put starbucks in charge of that.
i also don't think were tied to biofuels... if i remember correctly - you and i are both fans of nuclear energy... which could produce both electricity and clean hydrogen. pair that with a hydrogen hybrid hum-calade - and you're a green gangsta. make that pure hydrogen for the crotch rockets on two or four wheels for the performance purists.
sorta related - i heard that you can power the average home with with $20k of solar panels.
but pretty much a shotgun and a rake make the most sense... we're going down. and a trowel with a nice rubber handle.
I am thinking of even less effort and just linking to your link-post. Oh, and I would also buy a couple bottles of scotch, really brings color to otherwise mundance existences (yours, not mine of course).
Ken
also this one is pretty good.
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