Hello all,
Crosspost.
Regards,
balaji
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2004 9:57 PM
Subject: Sustainable Petroleum Warlords
Protest groups are in court trying to get permission to exercise their free
speech rights in New York's Central Park. It is deplorable that this issue even
lands in front of a judge, and there is little doubt that a justifiably
paranoid imperialistic regime is behind this blatant denial of constitutional
rights. But to gain a deeper understanding of the root cause of this amazing
hypocrisy, let us ask ourselves how the criminal minds responsible have arrived
in positions of sufficient power to execute their twisted ideology.
First we must be reminded that the so-called "other side" of the political coin
attempted to contain the protestors at their convention in a steel cage guarded
by the military they control. So this is not a partisan issue at all, there is
a clear division between elected officials and the public they are supposed to
serve. The division is deepened by the government and its corporate supporters
by the use of extensive security forces that look more and more like full scale
military units. These are deployed to protect the elected officials from the
public as they go about the business of making deals with leaders of corporate
interests that can't even be sued in court, again by the public they so
passionately claim to be serving.
Once we have accepted the premise that both major political parties are heavily
insulated from the general public, we can proceed to gain deeper understanding
by asking what it is that empowers these people. The answer is control of
resources. These are the criminals, their lawyers and financial experts that
have control of the nation's resources, and the next important principle to
understand is contained in the constitution itself. That is the principle that
the government is of, by and for the people.
You see, unless the general public goes along with their plan, elected
officials actually have no more power than regular people. In fact, for the
most part it is members of the general public itself that not only cleans their
toilets, but also serves as the armed force hired at minimum wage to protect
them from the general public! So it really is "The Company Store" on a grand
scale, and it only works because so many "go along" with it in pursuit of a
distorted American Dream that has been sold to them by corporate marketing
experts whose only real interest is in providing a life of luxury and ease for
themselves now, and to hell with the future, much less his fellow man.
With this foundation firmly in place, we can now introduce the concept that
started this rant, that is, what empowers these people? How exactly does the
general public turn over power to them on a daily basis? There are certainly a
number of factors involved, but chief among them surely has to be
Transportation. Since the discovery of the wheel, mankind has been using
technology to seek easier, faster modes of transportation. During the last few
decades petroleum has been the primary source of energy used for
transportation, and in fact such a dependency has developed that Americans for
the most part are willing to go to war to secure the majority of what is
available. Sharing all the symptoms of other addictions, petroleum abusers will
suffer withdrawal pains physically, emotionally and financially if they were to
suddenly stop or moderate their consumption. Even the ideas of slower speeds,
carpooling, public transit and smaller cars are all so offensive they are
angrily rej
ected as violations of "personal liberty" - in fact there is little
disagreement that the private automobile has become the primary symbol of
American Freedom and Prosperity. Frequent Flier Miles have become a part of
this culture of consumption providing incentives, upgrades and special
treatment to the most consumptive and wasteful travelers.
Now that we have established the dominant role Transportation plays, it becomes
easier to seek solutions. What is the common factor that makes transportation
so expensive? I propose that a primary factor is speed. It is a simple law of
physics that:
> It takes Energy to move Mass
> More Mass requires More Energy, and
> More Speed requires More Energy
A simple demonstration can be done by peddling a bicycle as fast as you can,
and then maintain that speed for a while. It will not take long for you to
realize that it takes more energy to maintain a higher rate of speed, in case
there was any doubt. On the other hand, conduct the same experiment, but
instead pedal with less force and use the gears to maintain an average speed of
5 to 10 miles per hour and you will travel much further on less energy, though
it may take a few minutes longer to get there.
Modern western culture values time as a commodity - speed is not only sexy, it
is also at the heart of capitalism. Petroleum is the primary energy source that
provides this essential element of speed. Entire business models are based on
time savings alone, for example overnight delivery of documents and packages.
The jet airline industry consumes vast amounts of petroleum, flying not only
several million people, but also millions of tons of cargo all over the world
every day. Incredibly, one of the largest oil consumers of all is the military
itself in the process of guarding and securing even more supplies.
Now 75,000 people want to travel to New York to hold a 2 day protest during a
political convention. Some estimates place the number much higher, and there
sure are several organizations that have been organized for the sole purpose of
urging more to make the journey and join them for a real show of force in
opposition to the war for more oil.
Well, I say they could do better to stay home and protest by not buying
anything at all from "The Company Store". The New York City tourism office gets
it and is offering protesters coupons for discounts at popular corporate retail
outlets such as Starbucks and McDonalds. Amazingly, thousands of protestors
will take the bait and exchange some of their wealth for some of the corporate
manna in the form of airline tickets, hotels, food, and crap imported from
China, thereby financially supporting the very regime they claim to be
protesting!
While holding signs that exclaim "No Blood for Oil", they will board jet
aircraft after parking their SUV and rent cars when they get where they are
going. The concept of conservation is wholeheartedly endorsed, for the
corporations. Propose personal reductions in consumption and watch the addicted
ones obstinately refuse to accept personal responsibility, insisting their
mission is unique, and therefore exempting them from blame. Conservation is
great - for someone else. THEY should do something about it.
Let me be very clear: It is western cultures addiction to high speed
transportation powered by petroleum that is at the heart of the worldwide
unrest we are experiencing today. It is the daily injections of millions of
barrels of oil that keep this fast pace going. Those who have control of
petroleum resources are running this world, and the general public supports
that in just about every aspect of their daily lives. They support the
petroleum warlords by their buying choices including everything from filling up
the tank of their SUV to flying across the country on a jet airplane or
consuming products transported from thousands of miles away that could have
been produced locally.
Cheap petroleum has powered the Industrial farms that have driven thousands of
small family farms out of business, further concentrating the wealth into the
hands of a few. But the illusion of cheap petroleum has been shattered now. The
true cost is beginning to emerge, and those who derive their power from it are
doing all they can to keep the illusion alive long enough for them to seize
control of the next great discovery of a source of energy. Signs of desperation
are seen in actions such as The Patriot Act, legislation that further strips
citizens of constitutional rights and acts of war in over 100 countries
worldwide by western military forces. Often these military forces are paid
mercenaries, or "Private Contractors" rather than legitimate volunteer forces.
Cheap petroleum powers "The Daily Commute" millions make to their jobs, which
are increasingly further away from the sub-urban housing sprawl they live in,
which is consuming farmland at an alarming pace. Everyone must have
increasingly larger housing that is heavily insulated against the natural world
by pesticides and energy consumptive appliances to control the indoor
temperature at all times. This insular effect is effective in helping the
addicted to ignore the environmental cost of their lifestyle, and perpetuates
the general disconnect from personal responsibility for their part in the
empowerment of the petroleum warlords.
Cheap petroleum powers the true Weapons of Mass Destruction, the billions of
cars, trucks, jet aircraft and other petroleum fueled machinery that is
rampaging all over the planet, killing indiscriminately all life that dares to
cross in its path, and polluting the air and water we depend on for life.
Behold the carnage from the seat of a bicycle or by taking a walk down the side
of any road. Pull over to the side of any major highway and odds are good the
rotting flesh or skeleton of an animal will be found nearby. The area in front
of our own homes is unsafe for children and pets due to mindless drivers
piloting their 2 tons of fun through the neighborhood whilst chatting on the
cell phone and fiddling with the Premium Sound System. Up to 40% of the average
American's income is consumed by private transportation and more innocent
Americans are murdered every year by cars and trucks for the crime of walking
or riding a bike than died on 9/11/01. Of these, 10%, (about 400) ar
e children on their way to or from school.
Meanwhile, obesity from lack of exercise imposes an enormous burden on the
health care and insurance industries, and cancer clusters, asthma, birth
defects, and a host of other human health tragedies are directly linked to
chemicals and toxic substances derived from petroleum that have seeped into our
water supply.
Ultimately, society itself bears the majority of these costs, and the tragedies
are mostly found among the poor and less fortunate rather than the stockholders
of the industries that should be held responsible. Yet, the poorest and least
fortunate have the greatest need for efficient transportation to improve their
lives, and it is inaccessible due to poor policy and planning by leadership
that is all too often wholly under the influence of the very industries they
are elected to regulate. What this means is that the poorest pay the highest
prices, for the lowest quality, with the most fees and taxes, and essentially
can only perpetuate this condition without extraordinary intervention.
This is how the petroleum warlords derive their power; by encouraging and
enabling America's unhealthy dependence on petroleum. So how about protest by
not funding them anymore? Slow down, use less, ride a bike, walk, carpool, and
demand an effective public transit system and use it. Why not stay home and
conserve your resources instead of trading your wealth for corporate owned
petroleum dependent services like airlines, hotels, food and transportation? By
staying home you will serve a double penalty to them because you will keep more
of your wealth and deny them the increase in theirs. This is how to withdraw
your support of the petroleum warlords.
Imagine if those 75,000 protesters suddenly reduced their personal consumption
of everything related to petroleum by 50%. Soon others would begin to see these
leaders saving money and living healthier lives, while economically benefiting
their local community by making more local choices to save travel. If these
leaders' actions encouraged just a few others to do the same, and in turn those
encouraged a few more, soon we would be living in a culture of Conservation
instead of Consumption.
Just imagine; policies would be adopted to discourage petroleum use, and
neighborhoods would become safe again for children and pets as a sane public
policy that puts the general public's health and well being ahead of wasteful
private cars, SUVs, jets and other gluttonous forms of transportation. The
fanatical petroleum warlords would be dethroned and their wild ideology would
be sent to a dark corner to fester on its own poison. Control of the planets
resources would be returned to the local communities it belongs to, while true
capitalism would thrive and prevail rather than the fascist corporate control
we know today as "The American Way" of life.
The first step begins with you, the individual petroleum addict. It is
imperative that we each take stock of our personal dependence, and ask
ourselves how different our lives would become if it were not so cheap and
readily available. What owns who? What percentage of your income is supporting
the habit? Where can conservation make a difference? What do you want to pass
on to future generations? What are you personally willing to do, right now?
Average BTU consumed Per Passenger mile by mode of travel:
SUV: 4,591
Air: 4,123
Bus: 3,729
Car: 3,672
Train: 2,138
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics:
http://199.79.179.77/publications/nts/index.html
If 75,000 protesters travel an average of just 125 miles each way to attend,
they will consume about 750,000 gallons on travel alone. At $2 per gallon, the
net result is a minimum $1.5 million dollar windfall for the petroleum
warlords, so the act of protesting actually funds the regime that provides the
fuel to transport the protesters protesting the regime for going to war to get
the petroleum that they buy to fuel their transportation to the protest.or the
next "sustainable eco-festival", no matter where it is.
Tim Castleman, © 2004
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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