His monotonous voice can be heard selling you Clear Eyes and Alaskan seafood. He appears in movies as boring, yet insightful characters which rarely contribute to box office revenue. He even had his own game show in the late 90’s. This was a man of single toned inspiration to many television viewers. Late at night, a few weeks ago, something awful occurred. I turned on my silver Toshiba television, flipped through the channels, and proceeded to stop when I saw Ben Stein. As his lips moved however, I heard not the sounds of an intelligent political mind. I sat in horror as the room filled with a noise similar to that of metal claws against the proverbial chalkboard.
Ben Stein, a knowledgeable man in politics and law, was not only denouncing global warming, but the green energy prospects of the future as well. I know Mr. Stein supports many GOP lifeblood principals such as the pro-life argument. Surprisingly enough, the man supports intelligent design creationist theories. That's beside the point though. How can anyone bring forth probably cause to categorize green energy alternatives as a bad idea? Stein claims that green energy experts and supporters are trying to destroy the economy and that oil is the only future of America. According to him, other countries are spending massive amounts of money on to procure prime oil reserves and America has to drop the whole green initiative and get in the game.
Call me mad, but last time I checked Mr. Stein, oil doesn’t grow on trees. In fact it doesn’t grow at all. The amount of untouched oil beneath the crust our planet is limited. It will not replenish itself unless the two events occur; a mass extinction of the human race and the passing of several billion years. Chances are after that scenario, there will be no economy to rant about anyway. It’s time to get the facts straight. We consume much more oil every day than humanly possible to produce through any alternative means; ie: corn. Oil, in terms of economic success, is only profitable to those who produce and/or distribute it. Once it runs out, what’s going to happen? Hundreds upon thousands of people will lose their jobs worldwide. Every single gasoline powered automobile and transport vehicle will eventually be too expensive to use and thus, become obsolete. Does this sound like the makings of economic prosperity? I think not. Green energy alternatives exist for two, very solid reasons. The first is simple. Eco-friendly energy sources benefit the environment. Almost as simple a reason; the second is that it serves as an alternative when energy consumers decide to switch over due to decreasing amounts of the substance and increasing costs.
I think I’ve made my case. It is one thing to not support green energy but it’s something different all together to denounce it as a dangerous global prospect. If you do both, be ready to defend your views with facts and logical reasoning. I’m sorry Mr. Stein but you’ve lost any shred of trust I had in you and your extremely neutral voice.
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