scary stuff

ExxonMobil is running ads entitled Energy Security. These ads are meant to convince us that we should be open minded when it comes to energy. Open minded in this context means we need to "keep our doors open." We need to get energy from more places. Places like Iraq. We also need to "Increase access to energy resources in our own backyard." That is corporate lingo for drilling in the Alaska Wilderness, if you didn't know. And no matter how you feel about that, it is not the really scary part. Sooner or later we will do it in any case.

The evil government -the government is always evil as you know, even though we voted it in place- is preventing access to 31 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 105 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. All of it in our backyard. And why would our government do such evil deeds ? It must be infiltrated by left-wing environmental terrorists. Or maybe aliens from outer space who are engineering our demise. Or maybe the U.N.? Or maybe they are all in it together?

Because according to ExxonMobil, with "the advanced technologies of today," we could recover all this oil and gas without damaging the environment. If you believe that you also believe in Santa Claus. But even if we managed to recover it without damage to the environment, we couldn't really use it, read burn it, without damaging the environment. But then again, regardless how you feel about that, it is not all that scary. Because that too will eventually happen.

No, it is the reassuring part of the ad that is scary. The part where ExxonMobil tries to convince us of the value of its approach. The part that reads, "Put another way, that much oil equates to over 8 years of current US crude oil imports." If eight years impresses you -as no doubt it is meant to do - think of it this way. If your doctor told you you have only eight more years to live, how would you feel ? Eight years is peanuts really. It is a blip. If eight years is all we have, we may as well forget it.

But wait, the ad is an ad, and so it engages in some subtle massaging and distortion of the facts. That is only 8 years of imports, not 8 years of use. We import only half of what we use. So four years is more like it, give or take a few months. And at present rates too, never mind the inevitable growth that ExxonMobil is preparing to "serve."

It is truly scary that we have less than five years worth of oil in our backyard. And that we feel the urgent need to exploit it now to fuel over oversized vehicles, and heat our oversized homes and otherwise waste it in excess.

It would be rather trivial for America to cut its energy use in half. And we wouldn't even have to take drastic measures. We would not even have to buy anything new or develop new "cutting-edge" technologies. All that is needed is for us to drive less, heat and cool less, and in general be sensible about life. And that doesn't mean we couldn't splurge every once in a while. But right now we are splurging each and every minute of every day. And it doesn't even bring us any enjoyment. Quite the opposite really. All we get is endless traffic delays, road rage, obesity, high blood pressure and the like.

We are this grossly overweight giant, who keeps eating and eating for no reason other than to consume more. And we all know what happens to such giants: their life-expectancy is dramatically reduced. Here is to your health, America !