Funny thing about crude oil. We say we need to 'save our crude' but If we don't use the crude, it serves no purpose.

Some theories say we need it to keep the earth balanced - but there is no proof about this.

So what good is oil in the ground? Maybe to massage our ego? Hurray we got oil in the ground.

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CNBC reported that demand for gas goes right back up when gas goes to the $3 70 a gallon range.

That should be no surprise.

If gas was back to last summers $2.80 gallon level, I'd be headed for Moab for some mountain biking. And when I got back looking to buy a new jet ski...if we don't use the crude, it serves no purpose. But at $4 a gallon, I've changed my habits to fit my budget.

We need to save our crude oil...save it for what?

Maybe petrochemicals so our descendants 'can use' it up?

Maybe national security..to 'gas up' our military and their jets?

But no matter how you slice it crude oil is only good 'to use' and serves no purpose other than what we humans have deemed it worthwhile to use it for.

People like to talk about how to fix global warming and peak oil.

Well, nothing can be done about either of these topics.

Humans are too invested is delusion and money to do a damn thing. And to do anything substantive would cause a financial and population backlash of unimaginable proportions.

Lets look at just 'a token move' in the right direction...a move that wont fix a thing, but would buy us a little more time.

Can we cut back on GNP by 25%?

Cut back on utility use at home by 25%

Cut back on driving by 25%?

Cut back on consumption whether it be food or hard goods by 25%?

Cut back on interstate trucking by 25%?

Cut back on air travel by 25%

And cut back in all related areas that use energy or petrochemicals by 25%?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

The 'public' gets their underpants in a bind when the GNP declines at all...even when it is still in the positive numbers.

They start a panic in the stock market when the GNP is +1%, so how can it survive a -25% GNP drop?.

And as for cutting back on our demands...well it goes against the American dream.

And even if America decided to cut back 25%, that is only a drop in the bucket, as the rest of the world is ever increasing their demands on the environment and would soon make up for such a small decrease in greenhouse gas and fossil fuel depletion.

In addition, if we cut back 100% on the burning of fossil fuels, the petrochemical business would still deplete our crude oil, albeit on a longer time scale.

Petrochemicals make up a large portion of crude's importance to mankind.

A partial list of some of the products made from crude oil.

Solvents Diesel 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 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 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

http://www.beloit.edu/~SEPM/Geology_and_the_enviro/Petroleum_need.html

Are you starting to see the folly of thinking mankind can stop global warming or fix our peak oil woes, when our world is built on such a ludicrous foundation?

But, lets forget the public for a moment and look at someone in the know.

Matt Savinar is one of the well known names in peak oil circles and runs the 'Life After the Oil Crash' website and was interviewed in the movie 'A Crude Awakening.'

In the movie Matt Savinar said he would probably not vote for a president that would adopt strong peak oil measures, giving an example of cutting back on auto production which in turn would cut back on Americas GNP.

So if someone in the know cannot stomach what needs to be done how on earth could an everyday Joe or Jane do it?

When it comes down to the tough decisions it is always a case of...honor dies where the interest lies

Fueling the problem of our consumption sickness are the games the Federal and World banks play with interest rates. They manage the economies in ways to fuel consumption and mask the real trend.

Witness the constant cries for Federal bankers to lower interest rates...so the stock market can go up...fueled by spending of the consumer.

The more we consume to bolster our economy, the more fossil fuel we deplete...the more fossil fuel we deplete the warmer the earth gets. Yet we talk about fixing global warming and fixing peak oil?

Our consumption sickness is drug habit that Greenspan got us hooked on and we just can't get away from.

Sure, we were always consumption based, but Greenspan 'mainlined our drug' to us and once we got a taste, we were sunk. Even now, the government is proposing ways to help the consumer keep spending while we are suffering through the sub-prime lending debacle.

Our economy is not based on sustainable health - it is based low interest credit to encourage compulsive spending, debt and living a life of constant consumption with a 'disposable mentality' when it comes to durable goods.

The US is built on consumer consumption to artificially fuel our economy to make our retirement funds only go up. Then the governments juggle the numbers to make the inflation figures seem artificially low, so everyone's retirement portfolio will make them happy so they will continue to buy and consume more...and on it goes....it is all we know.

The US GDP is based 70% on consumer spending. Our economy is based on the philosophy of constant consumption. Our cars are not made to last, nor is our economy built on such ideals of durability. We are slaves of fashion and progress and every car produced sucks down more crude in its manufacturing as well as heats up our planet in the process.

Matt Savinar may not have been exactly right when he said "oil is our god" in the movie Crude Awakening - our real god is CONSUMPTION.

We consume our planet whether it be animal, mineral or even its environment.

I guess it is just how we humans are.

Mankind is just a little 'too smart' for his environment and learned to live beyond natures intended means - on 'steroids of crude' so to speak. But mankind does not seem 'smart enough' to fix the mess that it has created for itself.

Yes, mankind has done great things over their reign on earth, but we must always remember nature does not bow to man...it is man that always bows to nature.

Humans need 'moral guidance' or a moral conscience since they have a 'free will' of sorts or they will self-destruct from wrong actions if left to their own 'freedom of choice' without this moral conscience.

Actually it is like this.

We are free to do what we want -- but are not free to want what we want. As all our actions have consequences, and many of our actions produce consequences that end up destroying peace. (both ours and other's peace).

This is what separates us from the animals that run solely on instinct. Humans run by instinct as well as moral guidance.

Sure, most humans try to do good, but when decisions have to be made, mistakes can and will happen.

And sometime these mistakes lead to ends that just cannot be fixed and we must accept responsibility for our actions. Once we accept responsibility, we can at least be at a semblance peace with the outcome of our actions and recover a modicum of honor in the process.

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