Raping Gaia
I probably could have saved this title and post until April 22, but the Senate just allowed drilling in ANWR out of the starting gate. Just about everyone who's halfway rational about oil and the environment knows drilling way up there isn't going to do a whole lot of good. Not only is it destructive to the environment, wrecks subsistence hunting by the original residents, and wreaks havoc on the cycle of nature, by the time we get the benefits from whatever oil is up there, the energy situation today is going to look like Paradise in hindsight.
Although the so called "mainstream media" (often referred to as MSM in blogs, etc.; I call them the "corporate media" (CM). It's *much* more accurate) has done a poor job of educating people about what's happening, there is a steady trickle of information for those who care. What articles, essays, and investigative pieces have appeared paint a picture of a planet in trouble. In the June 2004 issue of National Geographic, for example, is an excellent article, "The End of Cheap Oil." While the writers and editors hedge their bets on when the inevitable day will come that we no longer have oil, it's an excellent view of how things have changed and are changing. If you haven't read this article, I recommend you do as soon as possible. The photo on pages 82 and 83 is especially revealing. While I've known for years that oil is an essential ingredient in producing plastics, a lot of people aren't aware of that. They just take for granted what they have and what they get. Now, stop for a minute and think about all the things that are made of plastic, just those things that are within your view right now. Let's start with the computer-- the casing is plastic, so is the keyboard. Check your fridge. Half of the cartons and containers in there? Plastic. Dustin Hoffman's Ben may have had a crisis of faith that was shared by his generation, but his parents' friend gave him great career advice. "Plastics" plays an essential part in our lives, from the mid-20th century up to the present. It's not just automobiles that will change once petroleum supplies shrink; it's a lot of things that make up modern life.
National Geographic published a series of articles in their September 2004 issue on the topic of global warming. Our "president" and his administration notwithstanding, this is an issue that is here to stay. I personally don't think it needs any more "studying," I think it's a crisis that should have far higher priority than a lot of other issues on people's plates. You can disagree on a lot of different topics, from all the social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, affirmative action, to whether defense merits more of the federal budget than Medicare and Social Security. But you know what? If there isn't a planet left for us to live on, all of these other things become meaningless. When you have the famed snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro shrinking rapidly (and slated to disappear in a matter of decades); glaciers crumbling and shrinking in Peru, the Arctic, and even in Glacier National Park in Montana; permafrost wearing away in Canada, Russia, and Alaska, leaving the possibility of an actual Northwest Passage opening up; and coral reefs dying everywhere, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Caribbean, which upsets the natural food chain, you know you've got a problem on your hands.
Granted, the Kyoto Treaty just scratches the surface, but I find it damn irresponsible that our gummint isn't taking one damned step to even try to alleviate the problem. It's been said elsewhere, but to me, Junior is our Nero, fiddling while Rome (in this case, the world) burns. It disgusts me that "environment" is a dirty word to Republicans, and that the extremists on the far right don't give a hang because they think they're going to experience the Rapture, so who cares? I don't see how the home of over six billion people is ours to trash, especially since in decades, we'll either be old or gone and it'll be a new generation's home. Each succeeding generation in this world likes to bemoan what they've done, then express hope in the next generation's ability to fix what previous generations fucked up. Well, I think it's time to stop passing the buck and start shouldering some responsibility for what happens.
Returning to the topic of oil, there was an excellent article yesterday in Salon magazine, online, about the predicted peak of oil availability. If you aren't a subscriber, you should read it anyway: all you have to do is watch a commercial for a couple minutes, then you get a day pass. It's a rather sobering piece, and made me realize I'd better enjoy all my traveling in the near future, because it's gonna get far more expensive and difficult as I get older. As it is, I doubt we're ever gonna see "low" gas prices ever again. Right now, the average gas around here in L.A. is about $2.35 a gallon (the cheapest I've seen so far is around $2.25-2.29); in some areas, for full-service, premium gas, it's already over $3 a gallon; since I first wrote today's blog, a gas station on PCH in Malibu is now pricing its lowest gas at over $3. It's funny to look back and remember, just less than ten years ago, gas prices were the lowest they'd been in years. I was living in Utah then, and a friend and I were marveling at the cost of gas at a station just south of the Idaho border, where prices were just above a dollar a gallon. Now we're heading in the other direction. As it is, gas prices have been at or hovering close to $2 a gallon here for at least a year now. So much for our gummint's prediction that we'd be bathing in low oil prices, and that Iraq's oil would pay for the war...
Lest this all seem doom and gloom, the hybrid cars are a step in the right direction, and I expect interest and demand in alternative fuel cars will pick up. It's just a shame that Detroit and American companies aren't at the forefront of this movement; so far its been companies like Toyota and Honda that have been innovative and more far-seeing than Ford, GM, and their ilk. If it's any consolation, European auto companies aren't doing a great job either. If we have the money, the next time we're in the market for a car, I'd like a hybrid.
As far as Mother Earth goes, she's definitely being raped. We're gobbling up farmland like crazy, destroying the habitats of thousands of species, from mammals down to insects and fungi we haven't even found yet in places like the Amazon. The equivalent of three or four football fields a day are cleared in the Brasilian rainforest. Elephants, tigers, and other large mammals are threatened, on endangered lists, or heading inexorably towards extinction. Vast aquifers of water have been slowly drained, while places like Las Vegas add approximately 6,000 new residents each month. It's the *desert*, for heaven's sake, people! It's not designed to hold that many people. Despite all the rain we're getting here in L.A., there's a drought over much of the West, with states like Wyoming and Montana suffering the brunt of it. As it is, we're getting the weather patterns that are normally heading over Washington and Oregon states, so this year they've got water troubles. What that means, of course, is that this summer is going to be a potentially big year for wildfires.
The destruction of farmland especially bothers me, as a native Californian. This is one of the most fertile areas in the world; before WWII, Los Angeles County was tops in agriculture production. Even as late as the 60s and early 70s, there were plenty of farms spread out around the county. Now its all asphalt to asphalt. Orange County got its name from the citrus farms. Now it's wall-to-wall with immigrants from southeast Asia living next to towns filled with rich Republicans in their McMansions on what used to be orange groves. The average house sixty years ago was anywhere from 800 to 1200 sqare feet, with 1200 being the upper level. Now we've got houses with more than 2,000 sq ft for sale everywhere. Just how much space do we really need? It's not just L.A. that's the problem; towns all over the Central Valley are growing by leaps and bounds. I grew up in and around a town that when my family first moved there, was about 20,000 to 25,000 in population. Not small, no, but not all that large either. Now it's pushing 75,000 people and threatening to merge with the cities north and southwest of it into one big blob. Since humans haven't initially situated themselves in inhospitable places, this means that growth that takes place everywhere is taking place on the land that is supposed to sustain all of us. Towns and cities built on or near farmland, rivers, oceans, and other sources of life are now threatening the water and arable land we have.
I could go on and on (and I think I already have!!), but I think I've made my point: at some point, caring for the planet we live on, managing (and if possible, reducing) our population, and becoming smart about how we live are issues that can no longer be ignored. That day is rapidly approaching, if not already here.
Although the so called "mainstream media" (often referred to as MSM in blogs, etc.; I call them the "corporate media" (CM). It's *much* more accurate) has done a poor job of educating people about what's happening, there is a steady trickle of information for those who care. What articles, essays, and investigative pieces have appeared paint a picture of a planet in trouble. In the June 2004 issue of National Geographic, for example, is an excellent article, "The End of Cheap Oil." While the writers and editors hedge their bets on when the inevitable day will come that we no longer have oil, it's an excellent view of how things have changed and are changing. If you haven't read this article, I recommend you do as soon as possible. The photo on pages 82 and 83 is especially revealing. While I've known for years that oil is an essential ingredient in producing plastics, a lot of people aren't aware of that. They just take for granted what they have and what they get. Now, stop for a minute and think about all the things that are made of plastic, just those things that are within your view right now. Let's start with the computer-- the casing is plastic, so is the keyboard. Check your fridge. Half of the cartons and containers in there? Plastic. Dustin Hoffman's Ben may have had a crisis of faith that was shared by his generation, but his parents' friend gave him great career advice. "Plastics" plays an essential part in our lives, from the mid-20th century up to the present. It's not just automobiles that will change once petroleum supplies shrink; it's a lot of things that make up modern life.
National Geographic published a series of articles in their September 2004 issue on the topic of global warming. Our "president" and his administration notwithstanding, this is an issue that is here to stay. I personally don't think it needs any more "studying," I think it's a crisis that should have far higher priority than a lot of other issues on people's plates. You can disagree on a lot of different topics, from all the social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, affirmative action, to whether defense merits more of the federal budget than Medicare and Social Security. But you know what? If there isn't a planet left for us to live on, all of these other things become meaningless. When you have the famed snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro shrinking rapidly (and slated to disappear in a matter of decades); glaciers crumbling and shrinking in Peru, the Arctic, and even in Glacier National Park in Montana; permafrost wearing away in Canada, Russia, and Alaska, leaving the possibility of an actual Northwest Passage opening up; and coral reefs dying everywhere, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Caribbean, which upsets the natural food chain, you know you've got a problem on your hands.
Granted, the Kyoto Treaty just scratches the surface, but I find it damn irresponsible that our gummint isn't taking one damned step to even try to alleviate the problem. It's been said elsewhere, but to me, Junior is our Nero, fiddling while Rome (in this case, the world) burns. It disgusts me that "environment" is a dirty word to Republicans, and that the extremists on the far right don't give a hang because they think they're going to experience the Rapture, so who cares? I don't see how the home of over six billion people is ours to trash, especially since in decades, we'll either be old or gone and it'll be a new generation's home. Each succeeding generation in this world likes to bemoan what they've done, then express hope in the next generation's ability to fix what previous generations fucked up. Well, I think it's time to stop passing the buck and start shouldering some responsibility for what happens.
Returning to the topic of oil, there was an excellent article yesterday in Salon magazine, online, about the predicted peak of oil availability. If you aren't a subscriber, you should read it anyway: all you have to do is watch a commercial for a couple minutes, then you get a day pass. It's a rather sobering piece, and made me realize I'd better enjoy all my traveling in the near future, because it's gonna get far more expensive and difficult as I get older. As it is, I doubt we're ever gonna see "low" gas prices ever again. Right now, the average gas around here in L.A. is about $2.35 a gallon (the cheapest I've seen so far is around $2.25-2.29); in some areas, for full-service, premium gas, it's already over $3 a gallon; since I first wrote today's blog, a gas station on PCH in Malibu is now pricing its lowest gas at over $3. It's funny to look back and remember, just less than ten years ago, gas prices were the lowest they'd been in years. I was living in Utah then, and a friend and I were marveling at the cost of gas at a station just south of the Idaho border, where prices were just above a dollar a gallon. Now we're heading in the other direction. As it is, gas prices have been at or hovering close to $2 a gallon here for at least a year now. So much for our gummint's prediction that we'd be bathing in low oil prices, and that Iraq's oil would pay for the war...
Lest this all seem doom and gloom, the hybrid cars are a step in the right direction, and I expect interest and demand in alternative fuel cars will pick up. It's just a shame that Detroit and American companies aren't at the forefront of this movement; so far its been companies like Toyota and Honda that have been innovative and more far-seeing than Ford, GM, and their ilk. If it's any consolation, European auto companies aren't doing a great job either. If we have the money, the next time we're in the market for a car, I'd like a hybrid.
As far as Mother Earth goes, she's definitely being raped. We're gobbling up farmland like crazy, destroying the habitats of thousands of species, from mammals down to insects and fungi we haven't even found yet in places like the Amazon. The equivalent of three or four football fields a day are cleared in the Brasilian rainforest. Elephants, tigers, and other large mammals are threatened, on endangered lists, or heading inexorably towards extinction. Vast aquifers of water have been slowly drained, while places like Las Vegas add approximately 6,000 new residents each month. It's the *desert*, for heaven's sake, people! It's not designed to hold that many people. Despite all the rain we're getting here in L.A., there's a drought over much of the West, with states like Wyoming and Montana suffering the brunt of it. As it is, we're getting the weather patterns that are normally heading over Washington and Oregon states, so this year they've got water troubles. What that means, of course, is that this summer is going to be a potentially big year for wildfires.
The destruction of farmland especially bothers me, as a native Californian. This is one of the most fertile areas in the world; before WWII, Los Angeles County was tops in agriculture production. Even as late as the 60s and early 70s, there were plenty of farms spread out around the county. Now its all asphalt to asphalt. Orange County got its name from the citrus farms. Now it's wall-to-wall with immigrants from southeast Asia living next to towns filled with rich Republicans in their McMansions on what used to be orange groves. The average house sixty years ago was anywhere from 800 to 1200 sqare feet, with 1200 being the upper level. Now we've got houses with more than 2,000 sq ft for sale everywhere. Just how much space do we really need? It's not just L.A. that's the problem; towns all over the Central Valley are growing by leaps and bounds. I grew up in and around a town that when my family first moved there, was about 20,000 to 25,000 in population. Not small, no, but not all that large either. Now it's pushing 75,000 people and threatening to merge with the cities north and southwest of it into one big blob. Since humans haven't initially situated themselves in inhospitable places, this means that growth that takes place everywhere is taking place on the land that is supposed to sustain all of us. Towns and cities built on or near farmland, rivers, oceans, and other sources of life are now threatening the water and arable land we have.
I could go on and on (and I think I already have!!), but I think I've made my point: at some point, caring for the planet we live on, managing (and if possible, reducing) our population, and becoming smart about how we live are issues that can no longer be ignored. That day is rapidly approaching, if not already here.
posted by Mr. Sandman | 9:01 PM
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