The Big Picture

If I hear one more time, “We don’t have a gas price problem, we have an oil addiction problem,” I’m gonna pull out what’s left of my hair.

Recently there was an editorial in the New York Times stating just that. Far be it for me to rebut an opinion by someone schooled in journalism and no doubt is smarter than yours truly. After all, published writers know all, just ask them. And I troll in virtual space while playing the part of Sergeant Schultz, “I know nothing.”

The guy, who wrote the piece, Tom Friedman, even knows how we simpleminded hicks view things. Here’s a line from his column talking about us, “They tend not to see the bigger picture.” In his view, I gather, we’re too stupid to see past the gas pump. We lack the grand vision of a planet in ruin heading for sure extinction unless we rehab ourselves off fossil fuel.

Friedman’s words, “We are addicted to dirty fossil fuels.”

Yes, you can say that, but we’re also addicted to food, water, and air. Like it or not, the industrial world is powered by oil. Call it an addiction if you wish, but it’s really a dependency. And the faster we become less dependant on foreign oil, the better off we’ll be. If it takes 10 years, so be it.

There are many ways to battle this problem, and yes, wind and solar should be at the table. However, good old dirty fossil fuel is here to stay for the time being.

While we work on hibred cars and mass transportation, it doesn’t answer the “bigger picture” that Mr. Friedman must not see.

You know that old saying, “If you have it, a truck brought it.” I’m not hearing anyone address the trucking industry and the combustion it takes to move an 18 wheeler down the road. There’s not a solar panel big enough to push a truckload of China made light bulbs or Mexico grown tomatoes across this country. For the foreseeable future, diesel rules the road, and consumer goods will cost what the ruler demands, regardless of your personal transportation, Bus or SUV.

Jet fuel is another wicked petroleum we’ll have around for a while. Those monsters need raw power to produce lift, power you won’t find with a couple of sails and a jib. Face it; we’re stuck with jet fuel, unless the government can figure out what propulsion system that alien aircraft used before it crashed in the Nevada desert some years ago. But Area 51 and we’re not alone, is a topic for another day.

To Mr. Friedman, I see the big picture quite well. It’s all about control through guilt. I hate to bang my conspiracy drum, but something is up. Big-Environment wants total control of our lives. Who gains if we don’t drill for oil here? This goes beyond a few polar bears and some baby ducks. The big picture, Tom, is green stocks and hedge funds. Billions of dollars ride on a green planet.

When people like Al Gore (who by the way runs a green hedge fund) live in a house that produces a bigger carbon footprint than the town I grew up in, while shaming me for drinking bottled water, the hypocrisy must be pointed out. It’s like that silly pledge he runs around saying, then he jumps in a SUV and heads to the airport to a waiting jet. Meanwhile, I stay home, recycle my plastic and newspaper, and turn the lights off when I leave a room, you know, common sense stuff. But I don’t say the pledge and buy into his version of global warming, so I’m the bad guy.

If the Gore’s of the world really believed this stuff wouldn’t they lead by example and not pledges? We all know actions speak louder than words.

Politicians look at climate control as tax revenue. That’s what this whole Cap and Trade thing is all about. This may sound funny now, but I feel one day we’ll be taxed on the air we exhale, it’s getting that ridiculous. In the coming months and years, look closely at who gets subsidies to build solar and wind farms. I bet the names can be linked back to the ones who opposed drilling here for fossil fuel.

That’s the big picture I see. However, I’m just a simpleminded hayseed who doesn’t understand the serious issues of the day.

I know my Nixon like paranoia is showing, but they're out to get us.