Yesterdays discussion brought up many interesting points about the United States and its use of oil, as well as its failure to put more resources into other energy sources. The prosperity that cheap oil brought to the industrialized world has been viewed in a positive light. It allowed the United States to erect massive cities which in turn created large suburbs and an entirely new lifestyle. The role that oil plays in our lifestyles has become so important to our everyday life that Americans are blind to it.
A topic was brought up which discussed reasons for not putting more effort into renewable sustainable energy. Taking the risk of developing new energy and failing and not pursuing the rest of the worlds oil supplies was one reason given. I believe that this point is only partially true. The way our government operates today I think they want to find new energy but they are dictated by large corporations goals. America is no longer a democracy but a corporatocracy. Dick Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton, a massive oil company given no bid contracts by the U.S government for its service in Iraq. Halliburton continues to reap massive profits off the Iraq war. Large corporations like Halliburton use a strategy known as green washing to fool the public of their ultimate goals. By claiming they are working hard to create cleaner, efficient, and sustainable energy they are really continuing to do what they’ve done for years. Check out Halliburton’s homepage, its titled “Solutions to Today’s Energy Challenges”.
The only way to start the shift toward a sustainable lifestyle is to take power out of the hands of corporations and put it back in the hands of the government and people. This is an extremely difficult task considering that money means power and influence, and too much of it lies in the hands of these companies.