Holiday Message for Petroleum Addicts

A Holiday Message for Petroleum Crack Whores

Fossil fuels are not evil. Gluttony IS. 

I extracted the following paragraph from the December 15, 2004 EERE Network News, a weekly newsletter from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The EERE Network News is also available on the Web at: www.eere.energy.gov/news/

“A growing U.S. thirst for oil and natural gas will draw increasingly on foreign imports over the next 20 years, according to the DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA's "Annual Energy Outlook 2005," released last week, says that by 2025, as much as 68 percent of the U.S. petroleum demand could depend on imported oil, up from 56 percent in 2003. Meanwhile, U.S. natural gas consumption will increase by 9 trillion cubic feet, a 41 percent increase, of which 6.4 trillion cubic feet are expected to come from imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). That will cause LNG imports to increase 16-fold from the 2003 level of 0.4 trillion cubic feet. Meanwhile, the amount of electricity produced from renewable energy—including large-scale hydropower and combined heat and power generation—is projected to grow only 1.4 percent per year, increasing from 359 billion kilowatt-hours in 2003 to 489 billion kilowatt-hours in 2025.” 

See the EIA press release at http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/press/press244.html 

and the early release of the "Annual Energy Outlook 2005" at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/index.html

Meanwhile military spending is at record levels and will continue employing millions of Americans while providing cheap energy for all. Tax incentives will continue to provide free SUV's to the wealthy (as long as they weigh 3 tons or more). 

The local Hummer dealership is building a new showroom, and trainloads of Escalades, Expeditions, Explorers, Etc. are on the way. 

No new bike lanes will be painted and over 4000 pedestrians will be struck and killed by motor vehicles, again, this year. Tens of thousands more will be injured and maimed for life. Over 50,000 more people will be killed in traffic collisions between motor vehicles, while 100's of thousands more will be maimed for life, and millions will have long term health problems directly related to air and water pollution from vehicles burning petroleum. 

Fossil fuel is not evil, Gluttony IS. 

It is imperative that those addicted to the so-called 'freedom' that cheap energy seems to provide realize the impact of this dependency, and to understand how that empowers the war industry while enriching its captains. If your family earns less than $40,000 per year, up to 40% of your income goes to the care and feeding of your motor vehicle. Employers discriminate against people who don’t have a private motor vehicle and laws have been passed that require a motor vehicle operator to buy a product that doesn’t even apply to them in the event of a collision (liability insurance).

Public transit has been relegated to the poor and consistently under-funded, even intentionally sabotaged, by the captains of the private motor vehicle industry.  Walking or riding a bicycle has become an extremely dangerous choice as the isolative effect of modern private motor vehicles makes their operators increasingly unaware of, and often even annoyed at, a pedestrian or bike rider that may impede their progress a little as they race from red light to red light, trying to catch up. 

We must protect those who choose to walk or ride a bike and recognize the enormous benefit that accrues to society in general when it willingly yields the right of way to them. In fact, it is already the law in most communities; pedestrians and bike riders ALWAYS have the right of way. The only exception I am aware of is on urban high-speed roadways that are clearly marked “For Motor Vehicles Only” and even then, it seems some moral law should prevent a Hummer from legally running down a pedestrian or bike rider, don’t you agree?

PEDESTRIANS AND BIKE RIDERS ALWAYS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY.

In other words, YIELD TO PEDESTRIANS AND BIKE RIDERS, ALWAYS

Fossil fuel is not evil, gluttony IS. Slow down, use less. Honor rather than ridicule those walking or riding a bike. 

Happy Holidaze,

Tim Castleman