The price of crude oil crept over $100 on tuesday. This doesn't really mean anything to the every day person. All that hreally matters to them, or rather us, is the fact that gas prices are going to creep over the $3.00 mark. We were discussing this in my english class (how we got on this topic I'm not quite so sure) and I realized how ridiculously dependent we are on oil. Think about it. What needs oil. Um. Let's go with everything. If it doesn't need oil to be made than its made of oil or needs oil in order to function. The cars we drive need oil for the gas that keeps them running. The furniture that holds our households together are created in factories that need oil to keep the factory running. The SINGLE thing that America can provide for itself, food, needs oil for mass production in factories. Things you wouldn't even think of are made out of oil. Thing such as glue, plastic bags, phones, fertilizer, and the almighty credit card.
Really, this oil thing is all very tragic. The explosion in TX, the death of the rebel leader in Nigeria, and this argument going on between Exxon Mobil and Chavez because he wants to cut off supply. I learned that we don't get our oil supply from overseas. Our oil supply comes from Canada and Mexico. So then what the heck is the big frenzy about oil overseas? Well that's where we get our oil for war. So we've got three areas, each of which could be considered heart lands, where we extract oil from, but all three places seem to be progressively becoming less and less reliable, the heart of society, society's life line is becoming weak. The large amounts of gun powder that was left over from WWII are diminishing along with other resources that helped substitute oil. Yeah there's bio-oil, but production of bio oil contributes to emission of green house gases. Which doesn't really matter cuz we as the US weren't a part of that pact to reduce green house emissions. So what are we going to do without oil if we lose all that we rely on!? It's okay we'll just pay as much money as we can to continue getting what we need. Unfortunately, with less money in the pockets of the middle class, which happens to be a very large class, we don't have the money to pay for the gas we need because we're too busy trying to pay hospital bills. On the other hand, large corporations and factories are going to have to spend more money on oil for their business, which by basic economics means the price of their products are going to increase and all together the price of everything will increase and inferior goods will become out best friend...all because the price of oil increased. With raised prices..and a 96545165845154 national debt.....where's the money going to come from? Hello, China. Oh wait, that's not working out so well anymore either.
All this negativity, damn there has to be a subsititute for oil? Well of course there is. There's wind, water, solar energy, electric energy, hydrogen...all these possibilities! Why the HELL aren't we utilizing them? Well becauses theres a HUGE amount of money flowing in the oil industry and oil companies are making record profits and just so happen to be holding the ears of really rich lobbyists. So, oil prices go up, oil companies continue to make large amounts of money, oil companies are able to gain a tighter grasp on lobbyists, and lobbyists, with money as their motif, fight to get the right OIL people in office. And we're back to square one. And simutaneously, the everyday people, us, we, are still fighting to keep a decent amount of money in our pockets. And the definition of decent is becoming a lower and lower amount.
Hopefully with the 2008 election, things will change. But changing such a notorious and traditional method takes a LOT of time. Which of course is more of a reason to start now.
Conclusively, to me it just seems like the demand for money keeps getting higher and higher but money supply is getting lower and lower because its getting sucked up in the wrong, most inefficient places.
Many people are going to take this rise in oil prices just as they have before. Do what we can to pay the prices needed until the prices go back down. My question is why haven't we realized that staying this unbountiful cycle is NOT A GOOD IDEA. What about trying something new? You rich lobbyists and corporations have enough money in your pockets to make a new state. you'll be fine. Let us work on finding a new way to run society, cuz obviously this oil thing isn't working out.
Sources:
Baker, David. February 2008. Hears Communications Inc.
Norris, Chris. Personal Interview. 20 February 2008
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