© 2017 Michael
Swickard, Ph.D. “We aren’t addicted to oil, but our cars are.” James
Woolsey
While that
sounds good, it’s wrong. Our cars are inanimate so they can’t be addicted to
anything. It is we, ourselves, who are addicted to transportation. This is not
a bad addiction like to drugs, speeding or ignoring railroad warning lights
which can get you killed.
The
transportation industry is addicted to energy. Electric transportation is more
addicted to coal than oil but all transportation other than sailboats are done
with energy. They only work for us when the energy is abundant, dependable and
cheap.
Most people
are unaware of how important energy is in our lives. But know this: without energy,
there would be little available food or water and most people on Earth would
die.
We are so
accustomed to having energy at our fingertips that we do not normally think about
it. Flip the switch and the light comes on. Maybe some few people living out
off the grid could survive for a while. The rest of us will perish without
energy.
There are
more addictions in our society that we do not think of often. Driving much of
our society is the entertainment industry. It is so pervasive that we, as a
society, are ignoring great threats to our society because we are enmeshed in
our entertainment society.
Many
people are more concerned about the fortunes of the Dallas Cowboys than the
threat of a huge asteroid killing off life on our planet. Or global thermonuclear
war. Or some disease with no cure extinguishing the human race.
The social
networks all run on devices that are operated using electricity. Many people
are so addicted to these social connections that they will risk death while
driving rather than put off looking at the device for a few minutes.
Imagine the
day that the electricity quits. Millions of people will stare at their dead cellphones
in confusion. There’s no way to lodge a complaint without electricity. They
will have to speak to real people around them instead of being in their own
world online. How awful.
My Great
Grandfather came from Sweden to New York and then New Mexico at a snail’s pace.
However, I could get on an airplane and be home in New Mexico in one day.
Amazing.
People are
very concerned about whom is dancing with whom but not how redundant are the
systems protecting our electrical grid. Or with the environmental push against
coal and oil what we would do instead of coal and oil?
The first
thing we must do is admit our addictions and if they are good addictions make
sure every effort is made to protect those energy resources. The point is that
we should not look down our noses at those people who work in the oil patch.
Especially
just because they are covered in black gold and are a bit wiffy after working
all week. We should thank our lucky stars that someone is making our addictions
work.
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