Sierra Club and Stupid People

I don’t think this post is going to be very much fun, because it is mostly a rant about how people fail to think for themselves.

The last couple of months, I have going to Sierra Club sponsored events called “Sierra Club and Beer.” It is free beer…….. of course I have to go see what it is all about. I try to keep an open mind, and really want to like the Sierra Club, and I am still trying to like them. But two things really bother me.

First, all their initiatives seem to revolve around global warming. I am the type of person that does not believe second and third hand information and I need facts to convince me of stuff. I believe that the earth naturally goes through global warming and global cooling cycles. I believe there may be enough information to convince me that we are currently in one of the warming cycles. However…..I do not think that anybody has enough concrete evidence to convince me that humans, with all their destructive actions against the earth (I will not argue that) have had a significant impact on the natural cycle. In the end though, I agree with the Club’s actions, meaning the actual actions that they suggest people should take. So I am willing to overlook the global warming thing.

The thing that really bothers me though is the club keeps sending e-mails to “Stop Arctic Drilling because it threatens caribou.” And they are asking you to “To please send a generous donation today to help us protect the Western Arctic.”

Now, let’s think about this for a minute. Anyone that knows me will know that I would be all for the protection of the wilderness, wild animals, and anything that is not the city or the suburbs. So in theory, I would be against arctic drilling, and I do not necessarily want it. But, do you think anybody wants to drill in the arctic? The oil companies sure don’t. They would much rather go drill in a dry field in Texas, or somewhere in the Middle East. The problem is, there is no more oil there!!!!

To me, this is quite scary. If companies and governments are willing to travel to the Western Arctic for oil supplies, that tells me that all other easily obtainable locations are gone. It should be no surprise to anyone that world oil production has been steady (not increasing) for quite some time now. Of course demand has been going up, and will likely continue thanks to American’s insatiable urge to spend themselves into debt with Chinese produced garbage. It is extremely scary to me to think that the oil companies are all but telling us “Hey we are running out of oil, so we have to journey off to the frozen, desolate arctic in order to get some more.” And now people want to stop them!!!

Seriously, am I the only one that is seeing this? These people that want to stop the drilling for new oil or probably the same people that have a much bigger house than they need, more toys than they need, all the electronic gizmo’s and “advances” that our modern society can not live without. In the end, they are missing the point. I think it is really sad.

If clubs like the Sierra Club really want to fix the problem, I do not think they should be concentrating on the oil obtaining aspect of the problem. Instead, they should be focusing on the decrease in the oil dependence of society. Unfortunately, I don’t think that will work either because people are lazy and greedy. They will only care about themselves, and think that there is no way that the current lifestyle of our society could ever change.

Instead of people changing out of good will, I am afraid that it will be a situation that is forced upon people. That is okay though, because as the saying goes “You don’t have to outrun the bear, just the guy next to you.”

If you think you want to stop drilling for oil in the arctic, think about the alternative. Much higher gas costs. Just imagine gas at $10 or $15 a gallon, which is not too unrealistic. How would your life change?

- Would you need to drive so far to work?

- Would you even have a job?

- Could you afford your car?

- Almost everything produced from computers, to gadgets, to food all use gasoline in their production process and in transport. Last I knew plastic did not grow out of the ground. How would that affect your purchasing habits?

- Is any of the “advancements” that our society is striving for as important anymore? Are they really improving your life?

In general, I think people have forgotten how to just live. There is too much obsession with things that are not really important.