The Real Price Of Oil

Oil. We all depend on it. We heat our homes with it, we fuel our cars with it, we use it to manufacture an enormous array of products. Oil, like it or not, is a part of almost every aspect of our daily life. But does that mean that we really need it? There are two issues at the heart of the oil debate: Money and American exceptionalism. The oil industry generates immeasurable profits, more so than any other industry. Even at the lowest levels of the industry the pay is excellent. An entry level position on an oil rig offers pay in excess of 20 dollars an hour, a generous sum of money given our financial crisis. That hourly wage is also the average cost of half a tank of gas for most people. While oil generates enormous profits for American oil companies it generates even larger profits for overseas nations. Americans consume one third of the world's oil supply but produce less than ten percent of it. We have little to no say in oil prices and, given our consumption and production rates, rightly so. Make no mistake about it we are in the midst of a crippling oil crisis that is never going to improve. The reason we will never have the required amount of oil at an affordable rate is because of our very nature as modern day Americans. In the late 1970's then president Jimmy Carter in a state of the union address, warned the American public of the wastefulness that was causing a fuel crisis at that time. That warning cost Carter the next election against Reagan. You see for some reason, we as Americans feel that simply because we are American, no one should try limit our consumption of oil, or point out that we are horribly wasteful as a society. Here are some interesting facts to illustrate just how wasteful we are:

1. America counts for roughly 5% of the Earth's total population yet we produce 40% of the trash worldwide.

2. Before being closed in 2001 the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island New York could be seen from space.

3. 49 million diapers are used every day in America and the vast majority of those diapers are petroleum based (thats oil we're wasting).

4. Every year the average American throws away 1200 pounds of organic waste that could be composted.

(these facts and more can be viewed here http://planetgreen.discovery.com/travel-outdoors/trash-landfill.html)  

While we are falling behind the rest of the world in several key areas, we are still number one in terms of wastefulness and trash production. Its not a matter of being a tree hugger or championing the global warming cause, it's a simple matter of individual responsibility and self control. Simply wasting resources and not controlling the amount of garbage we produce is not just irresponsible, it's Immoral. Why do we seem to heap every possible problem facing us onto future generations? Do we not have some responsibility to clean up our own messes? In the 70's we had an opportunity to ween ourselves off oil consumption, but we valued our convenience over our responsibility as global citizens then, as we do now. Not to mention we have generated vast amounts of wealth for countries that grow increasingly hostile toward us. Remember the 9/11 hijackers? the majority of them were Saudi Arabian, Saudi Arabia, our "ally" and number one contributer to our oil supply. Is it not plausible to assume that weaker oil producing arab nations who cannot defeat us militarily might be taking steps to defeat us financially. It's like fighting a war after you've given the enemy all of your ammunition. We will continue to crumble as a nation until we are no longer dependent on foreign means to power our country. In terms of creating an alternative energy source we are at zero hour. We can not assume that future generations will be able to solve this problem when our increasing financial troubles make the research and development of anything more and more difficult. We have an obligation to improve every aspect of our world for our children in the hopes that they will not struggle and suffer as so many of us have. In addition if we are truly concerned about oil consumption and waste among industrial emerging nations like China and India then we absolutely must lead by example. They will not seek to slow they're oil consumption simply because we tell them that its better for everyone else, we didn't want to when Jimmy Carter suggested it. At the end of the day no matter what you feel about the environment, global warming, or local oil drilling, there is one undeniable truth we all have to accept, there is only so much oil on the planet and when it's gone there will never be any more. Ask yourself "Do we really assume that we have the right to use it all up? Do we not owe it to the continued existence of our very species to develop renewable, cleaner forms of energy?" Well, do we?

DON'T START THE REVOLUTION WITHOUT ME!--Vaultboy