Energy Woes (Pt. II)

So Bush tells us we're addicted to oil and that we have to do something to stop it. The problem is he's right and anyone who understands addiction knows that it takes tanamount to an act of God to kick one. Ever try to quit smoking? Try quitting plastic, driving, indoor lighting.

The fact is that petroleum products are ubiquitous in our society and our way of life relies on oil. I have had conversations with friends about this problem and they all seem to come to the same startling conclusion: technology will prevail. In other words, somebody will come up with some new solution or gadget that will save us all from oil dependence.

The problem with this point of view is that these people fail to see just how dependent our society is on oil. In the absence of oil, we won't have the ability to sustain a way of life that is conducive to technological advances. We would have to start from square one, something like the industrial revolution. Computers would be useless, cars would go nowhere, there would be little electricity.

So true believers in technology without limits, I submit to you a fast approaching deadline. You only have until the oil runs out (it is already running short) to produce your new gadget that will spare us our way of life. We are an oil-based society and are on the brink of losing the lynch pin of our economy and livelihood.