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Knowledge is the Power of the Prophet

  • May. 9th, 2007 at 10:50 AM

Finally! I’ve made it online just long enough to post an entry. It’s been about a month since I’ve come up north from Toronto. 

Granted things a little bit more peaceful here, and I’ve made some good friends, but tensions are growing over the unavailability of gasoline. As you might have heard in my audio blog: cars are just left in the middle of most country highways up here after people have run out of gas and have had to leave their cars stranded. You’d think that people wouldn’t travel unless they had to. I can’t help but feel like maybe these people desperately needed to get somewhere and simply couldn’t. 

Life everywhere is a little difficult, but I’m worried about some friends down in Toronto. I received this e-mail very late last night from a friend. It read:

“This won’t be long. Things are scarier down here then you think. Mob mentality is everywhere, and the only incendiary in the city is not oil, but the people themselves. There are nights where I fear for my life. There are people who stalk the streets at night lighting cars on fire in protest of not just the prices but for oil in general. I know why you left… you believed that you would be part of that mob. I don’t blame you, and I know you’re scared… but maybe we need someone like you here. I see the news, I read the papers, and I know that it’s frightening in places like New York City, and San Francisco… But in Toronto, this desperation is not about oil anymore… it’s about resources. I’m beginning to believe that maybe this is humanity is good for, consuming resources.” 

I’m beginning to feel guilty for being here. Yes there is my family and now the community to take care of, but do I view myself this way? I said in an earlier blog to “Keep fighting the good fight” but I’m which is the good fight: Staying up here with my family and learning to adapt, or going back down to Toronto and helping people to adapt there, where there is nothing but desperation? 

Tim (My new friend who owns the Vegetable Oil fueled car) and I were speaking on our way back from the truck stop the other night. We spoke about a world without oil, and about the point of these “alternative living” communities. Tim said that over the last month I’ve gained knowledge about alternative ways of living that people in the city didn’t have. I’ve learned all that I was going to learn about it, and it was redundant for me to stay. 

Once we got home we walked through the community and I expressed my concern about my family. I have elderly grandparents who are living at the cottage, the oldest of which is 85, the other has asthma. They need to be kept cool as the summer approaches. Naturally, my family comes before the city that I hold closest to my heart. 

This is the part of the story where I tell you that even in a world without oil, this world is full of amazing people.
Tim pointed at my feet. I had large red marks right in the centre of the top of my foot, where (from walking too much over the last month) my sandals had created blisters which were taking a long time to heal. 

“Look!” said Tim! “Stigmata!” he exclaimed as he pointed at my feet. Confused a raised a brow a looked down. Indeed the dark red marks were still there. 

“Tim, you know they’re just blisters. We have to walk everywhere and my sandals bother my feet” I tried to explain to him, but he was persistent. 

“No…” he said, bending over to take a closer look at them “Those for sure are stigmata. And you know what they say about people who get stigmata?” He was being testy now, and I understood the point he was trying to make. 

“They’re Prophets”

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not religious in anyway. And in no way do I think that this whole oil shortage thing in like a plague from god for our overindulgence. But… there’s something seductive about prophets and prophecy. Something highly intelligible, something that I’ve always wondered was true. 

Tim continued “You have the knowledge” he said before he gave me the keys to his grease-mobile (as we have affectionately called it) “And now you have the ability. Go share what you’ve learned to the people back home. You’ll feel guilty if you stay any longer, and should something really terrible happen you’ll never forgive yourself. Knowledge is power, Prophet. Go spread the good word.” He then explained that he would take my place at home, and take care of my family for me. 

So here I am. It’s a beautiful sunny day, and I’m leaving for Toronto tomorrow. I’m scared with what I will face but with all the knowledge I’ve gained Tim’s right. I will feel completely responsible would anything happen.
 
If you can fix it, why wouldn’t you?  Knowledge is Power.

Work + Transporation - Gas = Trouble

  • May. 2nd, 2007 at 9:41 AM

Business is booming… At Starbucks that is. My work is the Starbucks right downtown Toronto on University and Queen, on the boarder of the Fashion District and the Business district. Most of the time quiet new-age hippies come in to fiddle on their computers and use up the free Wi-Fi, but today I had never poured more espresso for more angry stock traders in my life. I suppose they were causing a “bad vibe” because all the hippies left and more suits poured in, all demanding high caffeine drinks.

I could help but listen in to their conversations. One of them was mad because he had to take the first subway out of Islington station this morning and a homeless guy in the same car started harassing him. “This wouldn’t happen in the privacy of my own car. Hell… I’d run down the crazies, not snuggle with them in a train car!” For a man in an expensive suit, he sure didn’t have any class.

Although these young stock brokers were full of money, they spoke about struggling to fill up the tanks on their SUVs. “My wife told me to take the bus today. We’re only using the car for emergencies.” The way he spoke made it sound completely unreasonable, but really think about it… using a car ONLY is case of emergency, like getting a pregnant wife to the hospital, or having to evacuate your home for some reason. If everyone relied on Public Transit rather then their vehicles, there would be a number of benefits to the individual. Lower insurance and petrol costs for example.

It took a couple moments for the conversation to get really heated. When one man suggested Hybrid cars, his co-workers called him a pansy… Is being courteous to your environment and cautious about your wallet make you a pansy? I suppose so.

Gas in Canada is already over five dollars a gallon, although I’ve heard it’s lower in the States. I’ve been biking to work for a while already, but I can’t see working stiffs in their 2000 dollar suits doing that. I would assume that driving into the city from the suburbs has become damn near impossible, and expensive. I called my step-dad yesterday and asked him what he thought of this crisis as an economics major. He told me he didn’t think it was good news, and could cause major societal problems if it continues. He also told me it cost him 150 dollars to fill his truck up yesterday… my parents might move into a hotel closer to work if the prices continue to rise.

I’m lucky… this crisis hasn’t effected me all too much yet. I bike to work, I keep the lights off, I don’t use my car anymore, and I haven’t looked at a gas station sideways in nearly two weeks. But as I wrote the other day… oil doesn’t start and stop with your cars. If it’s going to get worse… then each and every one of us is going to be effected.

…And I’ll have more angry stock brokers to deal with. Aw Well…Business is business.

It's in everything you do...

  • May. 1st, 2007 at 10:57 AM

Well… I’ve found an alternative way to get to work. 



I know… you’re probably thinking “Whoa, Old-school” I can’t help but agree with you. It takes me more then twice as long to get to work, but there’s no way I can afford to live if the prices keep going up like they do. The price of Petrol has gone up, and naturally will continue to rise, but it’s only a matter of time before energy production costs start soaring.  So far so good, none of the lights are ever on in the house, and my car has been sitting in my driveway for a little while. If all of this continues then I may as well cancel my insurance. 

I was thinking the other day… what would a world without oil look like? There are so many things to consider that it’s hard to know where to start, but I’ve been reading articles like you wouldn’t believe, and I’ve drawn up a few conclusions. Let’s start from the most obvious tipping point:

Transportation

Everyone relies on transportation at some point in there day. Transportation even influences the food you eat and how you make a living. Transportation is one of the biggest consumers of oil, not just in the maintenance of vehicles (IE, filling up your tank) but also in the production of cars. For example:

The construction of an average car consumes the energy equivalent of approximately 20 barrels of oil, which equates to 840 gallons, of oil. Ultimately, the construction of a car will consume an amount of fossil fuels equivalent to twice the car’s final weight. (statistic from: http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/)

That’s for an average car. Can you imagine how much oil it must take to construct an 18 wheeler, or a bulldozer? That’s craziness. You drive a car every day to work, right? Well, last year, when I was in school I had to drive an hour there and an hour home everyday. Not only did it do a number on my car (40,000 kilometers in a year!) I produced 10 000 TONNES of greenhouse gases, and filled up my tank 47 times. 

Don’t judge me ok? I know I was wrong, and I take some of the blame for global warming and the oil crisis… but honestly, if you’ve every driven, or purchased a car then we’re all a little to blame then aren’t we? 

Rate of Consumption
You know, we may not have been in such bad shape if we weren’t chugging oil like a frat boy to cheap beer. So! Who’s consuming the most oil? Here’s the top ten. 



Ok… so the culprits are a little easy to take notice of. The United States is a massive country, over 300 million people… but what about India, and China? India may be a third world country, but China’s economy is BOOMING. And in a country with over a BILLION people, they’re only using 6 million barrels a day. Some of the most populous countries in the world are listed on this graph… so why does a country with a fraction of the population use nearly three times as much oil as China?... a country of over a billion people. Why is this? America’s true religion… Excess.

I know first hand that American Culture is about the “Bigger and Better” aspect of life. American’s drive big cars; American’s eat big stakes, American’s live big lives, and with all this big, comes along not only big oil consumption, but is waste production. But we can’t blame Americans. Most of the world has a culture very similar to America’s because of its convenience. Unfortunately, having everything at our figure tips has caused us some important natural resources. (Information gathered from: http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/Superlatives.htm) 
Food
This one is going to shock you. I’m sure many people go through life thinking that oil and food do not mix. Think again! Look at all these stats that say they do:
This website also states that it takes 10 calories of a fossil fuel source to create one edible calorie for human consumption. And while that might not sound like a lot, but keep in mind you eat roughly between 1500 and 3000 calories per day… Times that by every person in the western world… adds up, doesn’t it? (information gathered from: http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/)

Well, I suppose I’ve rambled on enough. The website I’ve found, http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net is full of useful information, and is probably about an hours worth of reading (for both pages) if you’re as worried about this crisis as I am, you might want to take the time to read through all the information provided. It might open your eyes to all the different aspects that oil is used for. 
My next task? Reading up on alternative fuels. If you want to have a conversation with me regarding this, my AIM Screen name is ChanTanSama. I’ll be happy to hear from you.

Here's the Skinny on the Peak

  • Apr. 30th, 2007 at 3:09 PM

It’s a difficult theory. Scientists of all types have been having conversations about it since the 70’s. The Peak Oil theory has cast a long, dark shadow on our economy and society for years now. After what’s happened today, I believe it’s key to understand this theory thoroughly. 

I don’t know you, and I don’t know where you live, but I can say with some certainty that fuel rates have been climbing in your particular area for some time. Does this fact have anything to do with peak oil? Well… sort of. The theory states that oil will reach its peak when we have to exhaust our economic resources to look for it. Some people believe that it occurred in the 70’s with the oil crisis which happened around that time. Some believe oil peaked in the late 80’s or early 90’s. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that Scientists will come to refer to April 30th 2007 the date that oil peaked. 

So you might be asking yourself… “So what? I can afford to drive my Hummer, and purchase expensive petrol twice a day.” Well that’s great… but did you know that it takes over 17 barrels of oil to produce that Hummer? With demand for black gold going up, chances are in the future a hummer could cost you twice as much in production cost alone. EVERYTHING takes oil to produce, and in the western world, and our consuming nature we’re gobbling oil down hundreds of barrels a year each of us. 

There is oil still available on the planet. Where? Oil sands in Canada, Oil Shale in the United States, at the bottom of the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico, in an animal refuge in Alaska, deep in the desert sands of the Middle East, or deep in Siberia. Boys and Girls… what do we notice about all these locations? It’s incredibly difficult to extract the oil from each of these locations. The more difficult it is the more money it will cost to get to. The more money it costs for the oil producers, the more expensive that oil will be for you. It’s a vicious circle really. 

So! In conclusion… 

Expensive oil = hard to reach oil + cost of production 

Expensive oil = oil past the global peak 

Eek…

Work Today, Gone Tomorrow

  • Apr. 30th, 2007 at 6:44 AM

Fabulous. It's Monday, and i wake up to rediculous prices.

I went online to check where the best gas prices are in the city. It's a habit I've gotten into since prices started going up. But 4.18 a gallon? Sweet Jesus! What choice do I have? I had to call into work and tell them I couldn't make it.

Seems a little silly, I know... but when you pair an job market where nearly 38 million North Americans make minimum wage, it's hard to be able to pay rent, and the insurance on your car... forget about gas, and oil to fuel both of those things.

Why is this happening?

Are we truly running out of oil, or is this just a big market scam in order to squeeze more money out of the general populous?

Whatever, cost is cost... The only power I'm using in my apartment right now is the computer which I'm currently typing on. Good thing the sun has more or less risen and I can see my keyboard.

I know that others have it much, much worse then I do. If you're one of those people and you're reading this, I've got one thing to say: We'll get done to the bottom of it. For the time being, don't give in to your need for energy. if you're within distance from work or school, use your bike, public transit, or even walk.

You can pray all you want for the prices to come down... but you know what they say...

When you pray, move your feet.

Cool thing stolen from TheBruce

  • Apr. 27th, 2007 at 9:59 AM

You are the Creature of your own Demise

  • Apr. 27th, 2007 at 9:32 AM

I watched An Inconvenient Truth yesterday. And for a movie that was supposed to inspire me, I was saddened.
 
Destruction is our result when laziness is out cause.
 
Why not drive Hybrid, or what ever happened to the electric car?
 
"We have the technology" Old habits die hard...
 
and with old Habits, old technology remains. 

If you're looking for someone to blame

Check out your reflection.
 
This planet is as fragile as a house of cards.
 
April 30th...
 
2 days 17 hours and 23 minutes....
 
The whole damn thing comes down.

Oil, Oil Everywhere... but you wouldn't want to drink it anyway.

  • Mar. 23rd, 2007 at 11:36 AM

“Motion in the ocean
His air hose broke
Lots of trouble
Lots of bubble
He was in a jam
S'in a giant clam”

 

Ah, the peak oil theory. Activists such as Al Gore, Kenneth S. Deffeyes, Omoyele Sowore; all who keep telling us that Global Warming is occurring and it’s due to our dependence on oil. There have been attempts to be green in the past: the electric car, the Kyoto Accord, common recycling, Ethanol fuels, hydrogen fuel cells, etc…

 

Take a look at all of these attempts. They have FAILED

 

  • Why? There are many different questions
     
  • Why does our government continuously attempt to quash any viable replacement to the internal combustion engine or find crude oil alternatives?
  • Why do people continue to consume, when cost is so high?
  • Why is oil consumption at an all time high?
  • Why have we done nothing to curb our thirst for it?

 

There any many questions that have yet to be answered. The time is quickly approaching when they must be answered. The only question left to ask is “Who”

 

Regardless of everything. We’re in lots of Trouble, We’re in a Clam

 

 

 

  • Mood: tired

Rock Lobster!

  • Mar. 15th, 2007 at 2:43 PM

CONCERN FOR OIL!

 

The blog starts here! April 30th, 2007

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