In response to Clifford's letter to the Ogden Standard Examiner Editor
There are plenty of conspiracy theories that would suggest subversion by government agencies or the Petroleum agency but the bottom line is that the populous is in collective denial about our way of life and the petroleum we use. I am not sadistic enough not to enjoy the benefits of our modern life just not naive enough to believe that it will last forever nor that we shouldn't do something about it. We have the choice to educate ourselves and pick the fuel that we want to use. But it starts with us.
First, we as a society are in collective denial about how much petroleum there is in the ground. If you ask most people about how much petroleum we have most say that we have enough for so many generations. They may even site new discoveries. However; according to scientists, that's not the case. Most people haven't heard about Dr. M. King Hubbert, but his studies have been largely ignored and most haven't heard of Professor Emeritus Al Bartlett's, nor his famous “Arithmetic, Population, and Energy” lecture and why would we do research if we believe our lifestyle will last forever?
The second part of the equation is that most public officials chart a careful path around the facts surrounding petroleum and would much rather talk about taxes or environmental issues – If our elected officials were doing their job, they would help bring about change by educating the populous but the fact of the matter is that they would be perceived as dooms day messengers; if they bring up the demise of petroleum, they probably wouldn't get the campaign funding from the big corporations, that means they will get sent to the side-lines like Jimmy Carter. Remember the solar collectors that President Carter put on the White House and President Reagan removed?
The bottom line is that we are completely passive about the future of energy and believe what we see on PBS from the big oil companies that they are developing alternate energies for the future but according to opensecrets.org, the American Petroleum Institute spent more than 7 Million dollars in lobbying moneys – And I'm pretty sure it wasn't for alternate fuels or new batteries technologies – And to be fair, they don't have any moral responsibility to yell “wolf”.
The bottom line is that we don't have an energy source as dense as petroleum to replace petroleum and most people don't want to give up the convenience they enjoy anyway. Every other energy source we have available has less energy density and therefore isn't as desirable as petroleum. Let's face it, our society is already setup for dispensing petroleum products and if you put it to a vote do you think the populous would foot the bill for changing to let's say lithium borohydride, hydrogen or electricity or another alternate fuel with less energy density or a substance that we can't readily use? If an official were to be elected that talked bad about the petroleum industry he / she would be out of office before you could say decatherm.
Sadly, getting off petroleum probably isn't as sexy as it sounds and remember there is currently no silver bullet - Technology (inventors) can help but more than that, we need the collective to do it. First off we have to be smart in the short term. How much petroleum does it take to build a new car (about 0.27 gallons per pound – www.thetruthaboutcars.com)? Does it make sense to buy vs drive the car you already have. Remember, we already have cars that rival the economy of hybrids (Civic VX) and in most cases have chosen to ignore them in favor of bigger vehicles. We can make it along way to getting off petroleum by simply driving a smaller car. Also, read the governments web page on how to drive - don't be a jerk when driving and realize that if you are impatient and pass someone out of haste, you are wasting an enormous amount of a precious non-renewable resource just because you can. Don't believe that “green” will save the world. It's just our collective “feel-good” phrase to allow us to continue to waste resources. Think about converting your existing car to natural gas – it's still non-renewable but it is a transition technology and can be used until we have a more clear transition path.
