(This started out as a response to a post about drilling in Alaska, and kind of turned into an essay, which is why I’m putting this response in a note, hehe)
An overweight man needs to recognise he’s put his health at risk, and needs to sensibly take measures to get back to good health. We in America have been overweight in the energy consumption area far too long and should take steps to learn what is a healthy level of usage and live within those means.
Having said that, I recognise that I’m posting this using technology that has benefited from the use of this “energy consumption”, so by stating the above sentence, I know I’m no better than the worst offenders.
I like my freshly-brewed coffee in the morning, using the tools on my smartphone (ok, I’m playing angry birds or pocket empires), being able to work in an air-conditioned office, having the freedom to transport myself across town at a moment’s notice without walking to the local station and standing in the heat or cold or rain in a queue to get on public transport. That’s a lifestyle i’d like to continue.
However I am also an amateur photographer and lover of the outdoors, and have kids and a grandchild who I hope will enjoy traveling outdoors to admire the awesome beauty God has created. I know we must find other sources of energy to allow for a hopeful future for my descendents.
I did some poking around in Google Earth to get views of the area we are discussing (the area just north of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) and yes, it is a tundra but it is also filled with wondrous beauty that we really have to honor. I’ve uploaded some awesome snapshots here that need to be seen to be appreciated. If we’re going to discuss an impact on something, we ought to take the time to look at what we’re discussing.
Therefore I think we should do what we can to ensure our country is financially stable enough to invest in alternative fuel sources. Just like we can’t afford our current appetite for free money (i.e. raise the debt ceiling), we honestly can’t afford to continue our current pace of oil,natgas and coal consumption. These items take far longer to re-create than it takes us to use them, so the simple law of physics here means we’ll become more desperate to find a non-renewable fuel fix as time goes by – and those of us who have had any experience with a junkie looking for a fix, desperate people do dangerous things. So we need to – again with care – sensibly wean ourselves off this.
This means we should drill – and be extremely cautious in doing so – and at the same time use our oil-based technology to aggressively pursue renewable resource technology.
And find ways to use our waste products we’ve already generated. We’ve a literally tons of usable material in our landfills, but it’s less costly today to use new tree pulp than it is to retrieve and recreate paper from a dump. Our children’s children may not get a choice.
And to look for fuel sources and “cost saving” devices that DON’T cause toxic effects (i.e. spent nuclear rods , sludge by-products dumped into freshwater, mercury leakage from light bulbs, batteries, etc)
It’s a tall order, but with 8 billion folks on the planet (and rising), and each new discovery by some of these folks holding up the work for those following them, it would be a pity if we didn’t have the ability and fortitude make the decision to do this ourselves, instead of waiting to be pushed in this direction.
Please click on the link below to get slightly larger copies of the images. To get the full impact, please click the ‘Download’ link after clicking on a given pic. I really love the first photo, the one with the herd of musk oxen (or is it oxes? certainly not oxii, haha)
