Genocide by greed--Suicide by selfishness

I'm not scholarly, and in any case, the issues I'm going to comment on are far too complex to cover fully, but there are, nonetheless, points I feel must be made.

As a nation, we have four percent of the world's population but consume twenty-five percent of the world's energy. Far from proving that we are the "greatest nation on Earth", it only proves that we are the most selfish.

We are conditioned to believe that we somehow have a right to the energy supplies of the world because we need them. But, do we? And don't other people have a right to them as well to satisfy their requirements?There are finite quantities of our major energy supplies, and as easily-tapped supplies diminish, and without developing new, alternative sources to replace the coal, oil, and natural gas that we are burning through, our energy producers are wreaking ever more egregious environmental atrocities to to meet demand, at ever-increasing cost. And we seem willing to pay ever higher prices to satisfy our gluttony--simply by outbidding everyone else-- and disregarding the "collateral damage" of a raped planet.

Not that the producers mind, because they will do anything necessary to protect their astronomical profits. As long as we continue our slavish enslavement to products that consume our energy supplies without regard to the problems that such consumption creates, we deserve much, if not most, of the blame for the ruination of the planet we live on. Gas-guzzling vehicles, inefficient lighting, consumer electronics like 500 sq ft tv's and video games that are totally unnecessary to survival, and inefficient heating systems, etc. illustrate the depths of our selfishness. Can we not understand what we're doing, or are we to self-centered to care?

We have been brainwashed by energy producers for decades to believe that increased consumption is a good thing--the more the better-- and why would they do that?--because the more we use, the more money they make. New "convenience" products made from oil and gas (plastic bags and bottles, (etc.) are ubiquitous in our culture and are seen as necessities. Hundreds of new electronic gadgets are designed annually and marketed as necessities, and we buy into the belief that we just have to have them.

Well, guess what? It's bullshit and it's about time we admitted it to ourselves. Our insatiable energy demands, if not checked, will lead to the Earth being so severely damaged that it will be rendered incapable of supporting life. WE are the primary cause of global warming. OUR waste of resources is the reason the energy producers are literally stripping the planet to extract our "heroin". OUR demand is causing deaths in the rest of the world, both from wars (remember Iraq?), and by denying vast numbers access to enough energy to even cook their food or heat their dwellings. WE are committing suicide by selfishness, and the energy producers, by resisting efforts to develop other sources of energy, by bribing governments to pass favorable legislation, by using any means regardless of environmental harm to hold on to their profits, are committing genocide by greed.

This cycle must stop, or your kids or your grandkids may well die. Is your Hummer or huge tv worth that? You must examine your priorities and separate the things that require carbon-based energy into wants and needs. We are entirely capable, without any real sacrifice, of reducing our energy usage enough to save our future generations, or are you too self-centered to care?

And if you think that I'm a nut job, then I politely suggest that you get your head out of your ass.

Here are articles that will show you some of the ways our planet is suffering right in our back yard, and show the effectiveness of the energy industry in gutting legislation unfavorable to their bottom lines. There is also an example of how governments can actually encourage energy producers to preach conservation, and another that illustrates some innovative technology that uses waste heat in an effective new way.


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