Oil has been used for centuries.
Drilling for oil was recorded as far back as 347 A.D. in China.
American Indians used it to waterproof their canoes, make war paint and medicines.
Drilling for oil in the US is first credited to Colonel Edwin L. Drake, when he drilled for oil near Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859. During this period, oil was used for medicine.(1)
When the internal combustion engine was developed, the demand for petroleum increased.
Everyone dreamed that they would be rich. A television series about a fictional family, the Clampetts, involved them moving from the mountains of Appalachia to Beverly Hills after Jeb struck oil with a single rifle shot. I’ve been to both places, Beverly Hills and the Appalachian mountains, and would prefer the mountains. Oil appeared plentiful. It came from the ground and it was liquid gold. It seemed that there was an oil rig in every back yard. There was one on the hills overlooking my grandparent’s home in Kentucky.
And people were getting rich. The wealth continued even after the wells ran dry in the US. By then, the use of this precious liquid was so intertwined into American society that we couldn’t ,or, more importantly, wouldn’t attempt to convert to a different source of power.
The oil companies set their sights offshore and on protected lands to drill for oil.
As professors and scientists warned that the path that we, as a civilization, were headed was unsustainable, the petroleum industry was gaining ever more political influence and financial strength. Because of their financial strength, they were able to silence the naysayers, purchase scientists willing to sell their soul for a handful of gold, and purchase advertising toting their “benevolent” attitude,
A system of paying off politicians, from the local level to Congress and on to the White House, progressed to the point that it is obscene. Just check congress.org and see how much money is donated to each member of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It left me sick. How could these congressmen and congresswomen vote in an unbiased fashion when they are showered in donations? Most of these “donations” go to the members of the energy oversight committee. Am I alone in the wilderness questioning?
They are clever. They set us against ourselves. Television and cable moderators on the right and left work to churn up division in the country. It makes us “feel” better hearing that there are others like us. And they create a face for our enemies. I must confess that listening to the broadcasts increases anger in me.
Politicians are encouraged to engage in the game. Why else would they possibly make statements that are assured to enrage the opposition? The only explanation is that they receive campaign donations.
Our current situation stems from the oft quoted, “We just can’t stop using oil. It will take time to adjust, time to change.” This statement has been used over and over and over again and there is no change. When is it the TIME?
An editorial I read the other day stated: What are we supposed to do, stop the economy and find a new way without oil?
My question would be: “Do we continue along the same path and wait until we run out of oil and the watch as the economy stops?”
Time ran out a long time ago.
IT RAN OUT IN THE 1970′s WHEN THE OIL WELLS BEGAN TO RUN DRY IN THE UNITED STATES!
How many times have you heard, “We have to drill in the _____ ?” It could be the Gulf of Mexico, the Arctic, the north shores of Alaska and on and on. As if this will stop our dependence on foreign oil. Most of the oil used in the US is foreign, it is from Canada. Yes, Canada.
It is very ugly the way the Canadians are extracting the oil. But that’s subject for another article.
One question I would have to the greedy who continue this cycle, is where in the solar system do you think that you can live after you have made this planet uninhabitable? Do you know something we don’t? Or did you think that the earth could absorb all the waste and damage? How much of the natural resources could you take from our planet without it demanding retribution?
The retribution doesn’t just affect those who greedily profited from the plunder of our Earth, but all of mankind.
The Results:
