Paper Or Plastic
With gas prices so high, there has been a new wave of conservation-oriented discussions… including debate of mandates in Congress. But I don’t see very much ACTION. Any actual progress made toward using our resources more effectively have been, I am sure, due to individuals making small changes in the way they do things.
First, let me repeat my contention that our country desperately NEEDS a national energy program to help guide us out of a difficult situation and also note that this was also the case 30+ years ago and our “leaders” failed to do anything. Had a plan been put into place then, we likely would have made many technological advances and be enjoying those results today. But, no, politics has little room for rationality and foresight… it is too concerned about only one perspective and short-term, self-centered results.
WE need to DEMAND our representatives abandon their narrow views and do their jobs. Our society is very dependent on oil today, so we need to produce more TODAY. We need to expand the use of existing nuclear technology to produce electricity that will be the power of the future generation of vehicles. At the same time, we need to embark on a program to transition us to true energy independence based on even better energy sources and transportation technology. None of this will happen quickly… we will have to suffer for a while for our lack of prior action… but no action at all now will AGAIN produce no results at all! Let’s not let history repeat itself.
While I believe our federal government SHOULD be involved in some concerted effort to transition us to a new generation of energy, I do NOT believe our government should be TELLING US WHAT TO DO (or not do). Even if gas prices are high, if I want to drive excessively and am willing and able to pay the price, that is my business. The government cannot legislate this problem away. Natural market forces will adjust prices and, as a result, people will make their own decisions about what they should or should not do. The same holds true for telling me what I should eat, or how much exercise I should get, or how I should live my life in any way. We are FREE to make these choices… and that’s one of the beautiful aspects of our great country.
As I said, I believe most (if not all) gains made in conserving energy this past year or so has been due to US… individuals… making rational choices based on the circumstances at the moment.
One thing that bothers me about SOME PEOPLE, though, is how they do things for SHOW but with little actual conviction. They’ll preach that we should all drive less and use less electricity yet THEY will drive long distances to attend meetings about their cause and live in large homes that consume many times the electricity used in average homes. They are hypocrites… and they usually shout the loudest about US needing to change the way we live.
Not only are they two-faced in this respect, they only think things halfway through (if that far). For generations, we used paper bags at the grocery store. Then, there was a political uprising with claims about wasting our natural resources to make paper bags. It took many years and now plastic bags are the norm.
Hmmm… do we detect some odd thinking there? Paper bags are made of a renewable resource (no, not from ancient rain forests… they are from trees grown specifically for such purposes). Plastic bags are made from petroleum products.
Is it possible we were doing it right in the first place? At the very least, the change that came about was short-sighted and a step backward in terms of environmentalism. We shot ourselves in the foot.
So, you have to ask: what changes being pushed today are politically motivated and how REAL will the results be? Will we once again go along with the ideas of those who protest loudest and end up shooting ourselves in the foot… AGAIN?
It’s time to make some SMART decisions… not emotional ones.
