Your top ten national addictions

[serai]

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So, I'm watching Jon's interview with T. Boone Pickens, where the man's hawking his wind-and-natural-gas energy propositions. Very interesting stuff, and I hope the basic ideas get implemented.

But I'm starting to get more than a little exasperated with the nearly exclusive focus on gasoline and cars when talking about petroleum independence. Gasoline accounts for only 20% of the use we get out of a barrel of crude oil. Why is nobody talking about the ENORMOUS number of other things made from petroleum? You can't make a lawn chair out of natural gas, for example, or fill inkjet cartridges with wind, or fertilize thousands of acres of crops captured sunlight. (And let's not get started on computers.) Unless we find replacements for every one of the things we make with petroleum - every single item made from plastic, for a start, so good fucking luck - we'll still be using crude oil.

I'm fine with using my car less (hardly use it at all these days anyway), and will happily buy an electric when they finally become available, but I wish the focus could be shifted onto all 6,748,432 other solutions we'll have to figure out. 'Cause those won't wait, either.

Comments

[jblaque.livejournal.com]

Good point.

[serai1.livejournal.com]

Seriously, dude. I get fucking terrified sometimes when I look around at how much of our world is made of that stuff.

[lionessfreedom.livejournal.com]

I was telling this to a friend the other day, actually. It's going to be a slow process, but it'll come around to it. That 20% is a bigger number than it seems like, and it'll get the ball rolling, if nothing else.

*huggles!*

[frolijah-fan-54.livejournal.com]

It such a daunting problem. But at least if we start to use other things for gas and cars it will free up more for the other stuff until replacements can be found. Thanks for the info!!

[ferretdad.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen TBP's proposal, so I can't really comment on that. I worry about an emphasis on natural gas, since it still takes carbon out of the ground and puts it in the air...

... and that's the problem, to me. Taking oil out and putting it into lawn chairs does get to be a problem eventually -- my house is full already, thankyouverymuch! --, but unless you incinerate the chair, it doesn't add to global warming. Recycle or bury petroleum, just don't burn it!

... says the man who drives 540 miles a week ...