In all the frequent mentioning in the media of oil issues (use, overuse, peak oil, war for oil, price of gas, OPEC, what have you), they are inevitably focused on automobile usage. It's always driving, driving, driving, and the price of gasoline. That's it. As if the whole petroleum industry starts and stops there. Okay, so maybe 1% of media mention heating oil. But the other 99% is all about gasoline.
As you might have already suspected, I think a little differently.
See, when they talk about fuel, I don't think about Joe Mullett's jacked up F250 or the asinine SUV Mr. & Mrs. Suburbia use to drive back and forth from their McMansion to the local warehouse store (driving with a starbuck's froofroo cafe caramel mocha latte half caff whatever in one hand and text messaging on their cell phone in the other). No way, Jose.
I think of all the other stuff. For example, cars a probably a drop in the bucket compared to the bazillions (I don't know exactly how many) of jet airplanes that fly back and forth across the country and across the world, and how much jet fuel goes into those things and gets burned up by the, what, hundreds or thousands of gallons a minute? Does anyone know?
Even more importantly, what about all the stuff that is made from petroleum that we use and toss away every single day?
Plastic is a petroleum product, and
everything is made from plastic (you may think this is old news, but
70% of Americans don't know plastic is made from oil)! There are even petroleum products in your
food. I think more people should be reminded more often that the oil interests who want to control the resources of the middle east are not just interested in fuel and lubricants. If they control petroleum, they control just about every product produced on the planet.
A partial list of products made from petroleum: a partial list of products made from Petroleum (144 of 6000 items):
Ammonia, Anesthetics, Antifreeze, Antihistamines, Antiseptics, Artificial limbs, Artificial Turf, Aspirin, Awnings, Balloons, Ballpoint Pens, Bandages, Basketballs, Bearing Grease, Bicycle Tires, Boats, Cameras, Candles, Car Battery Cases, Car Enamel, Cassettes, Caulking, CD Player, CD's, Clothes, Clothesline, Cold cream, Combs, Cortisone, Crayons, Curtains, Dashboards, Denture Adhesive, Dentures, Deodorant, Detergents, Dice, Diesel, Dishes, Dishwasher, Dresses, Drinking Cups, Dyes, DVD's, Electric Blankets, Electrician's Tape, Enamel, Epoxy, Eyeglasses, Fan Belts, Faucet Washers, Fertilizers, Fishing Rods & gear, Floor Wax, Folding Doors, Food Preservatives, Football Cleats, Football Helmets, Footballs, Footballs, Gasoline, Glycerin, Golf Bags, Golf Balls, Guitar Strings, Hair Coloring, Hair Curlers, Handguns, Hand Lotion, Heart Valves, House Paint, Ice Chests, Ice Cube Trays, Ink, Insect Repellent, Insecticides, Life Jackets, Linings, Linoleum, Lipstick, Luggage, Model Cars, Mops, Motor Oil, Motorcycle Helmet, Movie film, Nail Polish, Nylon Rope, Oil Filters, Paint, Paint Brushes, Paint Rollers, Panty Hose, Parachutes, Percolators, Perfumes, Petroleum Jelly, Pillows, Plastic Wood, Purses, Putty, Refrigerant, Refrigerators, Roller Skates, Roofing, Rubber Cement, Rubbing Alcohol, Safety Glasses, Shag Rugs, Shampoo, Shaving Cream, Shoe Polish, Shoes, Shower Curtains, Skis, Slacks, Soap, Soft Contact lenses, Solvents, Speakers, Sports Car Bodies, Sun Glasses, Surf Boards, Sweaters, Synthetic Rubber, Telephones, Tennis Rackets, Tents, Tires, Toilet Seats, Tool Boxes, Tool Racks, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Transparent Tape, Trash Bags, TV Cabinets, Umbrellas, Upholstery, Vaporizers, Vitamin Capsules, Water Pipes, Wheels, Yarn...
Even $@#^& candy wrappers are made from plastic! Along with just about every piece of product packaging filling the aisles of your local Hell Mart.
And to top it off, you have things like this happening:
Boeing Unveils Blockbuster Plane:
"What makes the 787 revolutionary is that it is the first airplane built mostly not of metal, but rather mostly of high tech composite material, a type of reinforced plastic."
Do you see what I mean? They don't just want to control the gas you put in your car.
If they control oil, they control everything!So now you know why, every time I hear someone from either side of the argument proposing to save the day by encouraging the use of biofuels, I feel a little cheated. Honestly, we need to address the big picture here. The fuel thing important, but we really need to address the fact that practically everything else is made from oil, too. And the neocons want to own every drop of it!
P.S. Someone once said that I shouldn't address problems like this without also providing a solution. So... how's this:
Henry Ford built an automobile out of soy and hemp!