sketches of my day May 2008 - Nov 2010

May 2, 2010

oily greed

I have to get on a soapbox; the spill in the Gulf and the threats to our coast has, of course, affected me. I cannot “do” anything about it so I turn to my keyboard and do all that I can, write about it. For me it is all about our unyielding, insatiable desire to consume – bigger cars, bigger houses, more stuff. We do all of this at the expense of our wildlife and our land. We sure have come a long way from being good stewards of the Earth. I live in a house that is too big and I went through  nearly a decade of consumerism where I got sucked into that revolting world and I am so ashamed of myself for losing sight of who I was and submitting to the propaganda. I am back to where I was, the way I was raised, and I am wishing I had never gone “there”, but I can only learn and go forward. Anyway, I have connected to this site and the information, I think, is worth reading and absorbing, I have pulled a bit of it and posted it.

 http://www.verdant.net/society.htm

"You work in a job you hate, to buy stuff that you don't need, to impress people that you don't like."

- Unknown

"He who dies with the most toys wins"

"Pro-sports contribute next-to-nothing to communities economically yet they are sucking public dollars that could be better spent on parks, schools and public services into millionaires/billionaire's pockets and deluding a whole generation of at-risk youth into believing in the possibility of an "athletic career". "

"Happiness can't be purchased in the marketplace, no matter how much advertising tries to convince you of it. Market driven forces have usurped the role once assumed by family, home, common-sense and community. We have been programmed to believe that we should pursue more money to spend on more things offered in the marketplace, to be living mannequins for the material adornments of the hour, our worth determined by what we have or don't have, rather than what we are, what we do or what we know. "

"Consumerism, already having captured death as a consumer obligation whereby sadness and regret are quenched by spending lots of money, now turns major life events like weddings and births into consumer events with their own hierarchy of demands for the things which assume a life of their own. For example, the bride's dress and accessories assumes far more significance in the telling than the bride's state of mind. Baby shower gifts take precedence over helping with the baby."

"When people have lost their authentic personal taste, they lose their personality and become instruments of other people's wills."

Robert Graves

http://www.ranken-energy.com/Products%20from%20Petroleum.htm

A partial list of products made from Petroleum (144 of 6000 items)

One 42-gallon barrel of oil creates 19.4 gallons of gasoline. The rest (over half) is used to make things like:

Solvents	Diesel fuel	Motor Oil	Bearing Grease
Ink	Floor Wax	Ballpoint Pens	Football Cleats
Upholstery	Sweaters	Boats	Insecticides
Bicycle Tires	Sports Car Bodies	Nail Polish	Fishing lures
Dresses	Tires	Golf Bags	Perfumes
Cassettes	Dishwasher parts	Tool Boxes	Shoe Polish
Motorcycle Helmet	Caulking	Petroleum Jelly	Transparent Tape
CD Player	Faucet Washers	Antiseptics	Clothesline
Curtains	Food Preservatives	Basketballs	Soap
Vitamin Capsules	Antihistamines	Purses	Shoes
Dashboards	Cortisone	Deodorant	Footballs
Putty	Dyes	Panty Hose	Refrigerant
Percolators	Life Jackets	Rubbing Alcohol	Linings
Skis	TV Cabinets	Shag Rugs	Electrician's Tape
Tool Racks	Car Battery Cases	Epoxy	Paint
Mops	Slacks	Insect Repellent	Oil Filters
Umbrellas	Yarn	Fertilizers	Hair Coloring
Roofing	Toilet Seats	Fishing Rods	Lipstick
Denture Adhesive	Linoleum	Ice Cube Trays	Synthetic Rubber
Speakers	Plastic Wood	Electric Blankets	Glycerin
Tennis Rackets	Rubber Cement	Fishing Boots	Dice
Nylon Rope	Candles	Trash Bags	House Paint
Water Pipes	Hand Lotion	Roller Skates	Surf Boards
Shampoo	Wheels	Paint Rollers	Shower Curtains
Guitar Strings	Luggage	Aspirin	Safety Glasses
Antifreeze	Football Helmets	Awnings	Eyeglasses
Clothes	Toothbrushes	Ice Chests	Footballs
Combs	CD's & DVD's	Paint Brushes	Detergents
Vaporizers	Balloons	Sun Glasses	Tents
Heart Valves	Crayons	Parachutes	Telephones
Enamel	Pillows	Dishes	Cameras
Anesthetics	Artificial Turf	Artificial limbs	Bandages
Dentures	Model Cars	Folding Doors	Hair Curlers
Cold cream	Movie film	Soft Contact lenses	Drinking Cups
Fan Belts	Car Enamel	Shaving Cream	Ammonia
Refrigerators	Golf Balls	Toothpaste	Gasoline

Americans consume petroleum products at a rate of three-and-a-half gallons of oil and more than
250 cubic feet of natural gas per day each! But, as shown here petroleum is not just used for fuel.

The following is an sobering excerpt from an article from the AP by Doyle Rice

"Some of the birds most affected include ducks, geese, as well as hundreds of species of migrating songbirds, which use this ecosystem as part of their journey on their way back from South America. As well, shorebirds such as cranes, gulls, and the brown pelican are also at risk. "It's not a pretty picture," says Kaderka.

As for marine mammals, Kaderka reports that the spill threatens dolphins, whales, and sea turtles, since they all have to come up to the surface to breathe."It is of grave concern," says David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration about the spill. "I am frightened. This is a very, very big thing. And the efforts that are going to be required to do anything about it, especially if it continues on, are just mind-boggling."

So I ask, is all of this heartache worth our over consumption??? I am sick with all of this. Why do we have to continue to destroy animal habitat? Do we really need more malls and bigger cars and houses? I don’t understand where the animals will go? Perhaps the government will put them on the reservations with the Indians? I see it here in a town near my small town – sprawl, more and more franchises consuming pastures and forest. Okay, I have said enough. I am beginning to write with pure, raw emotion and not much intellect.

There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more.  The other is to desire less.

-G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)  

One of the weaknesses of our age is inability to distinguish needs from greeds.

-Don Robinson

 

Thinking to get at once all the gold the goose could give, he killed it and opened it only to find—nothing.

-Aesop (c. B.C. 555)  

This drive to always want more is based on the misconceptions that having more will make me more happy, more important, and more secure, but all three ideas are untrue. Possessions only provide temporary happiness. Because things do not change, we eventually become bored with them and then want newer, bigger, better versions.

-Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, 2002

The reality is that our economy now consists of driving 250 million vehicles around the suburbs and malls and eating fried chicken. We don’t manufacture much. We just burn up ever scarcer petroleum in the ever-expanding suburbs built with mortgage money lent to people who haven’t a clue.

-Joe Bageant, Deer Hunting With Jesus, 2007

Give the public the 'image' of what it thinks it ought to be, or what television commercials or glossy magazine ads have convinced us we ought to be, and we will buy more of the product, become closer to the image, and further from reality.

Madeline L'Engle (1918-2007), A Circle of Quiet, 1972

Everything in excess is opposed to nature.

-Hippocrates (B.C. 460-370)  

 

Plant a garden…